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| Maria Sharapova from Russia clinches the fist during the final of the WTA tennis Porsche GP against Na Li from China in Stuttgart, Germany, Sunday, April 28, 2013. |
STUTTGART,
Germany (AP) -- Maria Sharapova beat Li Na 6-4, 6-3 on Sunday to
successfully defend her WTA Porsche Grand Prix title in a final between
the last two French Open champions.
The
top-seeded Russian swept to her second title of the year after winning
in Indian Wells, Calif. She became the first player to retain the
Stuttgart title since Lindsey Davenport in 2005.
"I
thought it'd be the toughest match of the tournament, but I played my
best tennis today," Sharapova said.
"I was able to step it up."
This
was her 29th career title and 16th consecutive win on clay, dating to
Rome last year. Since Stuttgart last year, she is 23-1 on clay. Her only
loss was to Serena Williams in Madrid.
Sharapova,
ranked No. 2, was using the Stuttgart tournament for her clay-court
debut this season, as she did last year when she went on to capture the
French Open.
The second-seeded Li had a double-fault on match point, with another one earlier in the final game.
"I was under pressure on her return," Li said. "She was aggressive."
Sharapova
had to fight through three long three-setters to get to the
championship match, but there was little drama in the final.
The
Russian opened with a break and went up 4-1 before Li could pull back
one break. But that was not enough, and Sharapova closed the set with a
service winner.
"I tried to put it together from the start," Sharapova said.
Li,
who became the first Chinese player to win a Grand Slam title with her
victory at Roland Garros in 2011, simply didn't have enough consistency
to threaten. Sharapova gained the key break in the seventh game of the
second when Li sent a volley wide.
Sharapova holds a 9-5 career edge over Li, who beat her in the semifinals of the Australian Open, the year's
first Grand Slam.
"I'm a little sad to lose," Li said. "But it's a pretty good start to my clay-court season."
