Maria Sharapova and Na Li staged one of the most dramatic finals of the year at the 2012 Italian Open.
By any definition, the 2011 season was a successful one for Maria Sharapova, who after several years of struggling with injury and form, posted a Top-10 year-end finish for the first time since 2008. Sharapova won her first tournament of the year on clay in Stuttgart, then after a quarterfinal run in Madrid, advanced to her fourth final of the year in Rome, where she was the defending champion.
In the final, she would face Na Li, the player who denied her bid for the career Grand Slam at the 2011 French Open. Li was searching for her first title since that breakout performance.
In their first four matches against each other, Sharapova handled Li’s game with ease. But in the fifth one, Li captured her first set against Sharapova, which evidently gave her some confidence as she won the next four matches. That run, though, came to a screeching halt in Miami in 2012 as Sharapova routed Li 6-3, 6-0.
The star from China demonstrated in the Rome final she was well aware of one of the most crucial keys to success in tennis: It’s important to have a short memory.
Li took the first set 6-4 and raced to a 4-0 lead in the second. Two games away from defeat, Sharapova showed she was also capable of putting the past behind her as she took six games in a row to level the match at a set apiece.
Sharapova won the first two games of the third set, but Li got the break back. As the two went deep into the decider, Li found herself at match point at 6-5 on Sharapova’s serve. After fighting that off, Sharapova pushed the match into a tiebreak.
Mother Nature decided the final wouldn’t be decided anytime soon.
With rain falling throughout the match, the skies opened up before the tiebreak and play was halted for two hours. When play resumed, Sharapova eventually earned a match point of her own against Li’s serve at 5-6. After nearly three hours of on-court time, an unforced backhand error from Li gave Sharapova her first title of the year.
1
This title marked the first time in her career that Sharapova won two clay-court events in one year.
2
Sharapova defeated two former French Open champions en route to the title: Li in the final and 2008 winner Ana Ivanovic in the third round.
3
Li lost her third career clay-court final, with her only title on the surface coming at the 2011 French Open.
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