Italian Open 2012: Maria Sharapova retains title, beats Roland Garros titlist in final

World number two Maria Sharapova retained the prestigious Italian Open title on Sunday following a come-from-behind victory against 2011 Roland Garros champion Li Na 4-6, 6-4, 7-6.

Li Na, aiming for her first title since Grand Slam victory in Paris nearly a year ago, was in control of the first set and appeared set for victory before Sharapova found her range and stormed in the second set to win six consecutive games with Li leading at 4-0.

In the third set, the Russian took a 4-1 lead before rain interrupted play which gave Li the chance to regroup and won four successive games to lead at 5-4. Forcing their way to a tiebreak, Sharapova held her nerves to win.

The victory means Sharapova gets to retain her ranking points and will be a heavy favorite to win the Roland Garros 2012 title, the only Grand Slam event she has yet to win. The Russian former world number already won the Wimbledon (2004), US Open (2006) and Australian Open (2008) titles.