Maria Sharapova clinches Italian Open 2011 title

Russia’s Maria Sharapova ended her remarkable run at the Italian Open 2011 tournament by winning the women’s singles title, her biggest claycourt win to date, after beating Australia’s Samantha Stosurin the final.

The three-time Grand Slam champion won 16 of the first 19 points contested in the first set to lead 4-0 before Stodur made a slight comeback. However, the Russian former world number one seemed to know her opponent’s game and went on to win the match.

With the title win, Sharapova’s world ranking will rise to number seven next week while Stosur will drop one spot to number eight. Stosur has yet to win a match against Sharapova in their eight meetings.

The $2 million Italian Open Final was delayed by almost three hours due to rain.

“I’m so happy to be the champion. It means so much to me to add this title to the ones I already have. Rome is such a special place and I’ve dreamed of holding up this trophy. There are a lot of tournaments coming up, and this is a great start to everything. I can’t wait to be back next year,” Sharapova said.