Fast Facts: Sharapova Captures Biggest Clay Court Title To Date

Written by: Staff on 15th May 2011

Fast Facts: Sharapova Captures Biggest Clay Court Title To Date

Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova celebrates after beating Australia's Samantha Stosur in their final match of the Italian Open tennis tournament in the Central Stadium at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy, 15 May 2011. Sharapova won 6-2 and 6-4. EPA/ALESSANDRO DI MEO |

Results – Sunday, May 15, 2011
Singles – Final
(7) Maria Sharapova (RUS) d. (6) Samantha Stosur (AUS) 62 64

Doubles – Final

Peng/Zheng (CHN/CHN) d. (3) King/Shvedova (USA/KAZ) 62 63

Final Facts
- Sharapova wins her third WTA clay court title, but first at the Premier level (her first two came at Internationals in Amelia Island and Strasbourg). The 24-year-old now owns 23 WTA singles titles overall (23-12 in finals).
– Her semifinal defeat of Caroline Wozniacki marked the fifth career victory over a reigning No.1 for former No.1 Sharapova.
– Stosur, who had pulled off upsets over No.2 seed Francesca Schiavone and No.4 seed Li Na en route to her first final since Roland Garros almost a year ago, falls to 0-8 lifetime against Sharapova and 2-8 in WTA singles finals.
– Sharapova and Stosur are projected to switch spots on the new rankings, Sharapova moving from No.8 to No.7 and Stosur going from No.7 to No.8.
– Peng Shuai and Zheng Jie win their first title together on their fourth outing as a team. Peng now has seven WTA doubles titles while Zheng has 14.
– Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova, the reigning Wimbledon and US Open champions, were playing their fourth final together.

Final Quotes
Maria Sharapova, 2011 Internazionali BNL d’Italia singles champion:
“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.”

Samantha Stosur, 2011 Internazionali BNL d’Italia singles runner-up:
“Overall I am very happy with the way I played this week. Obviously today was a little bit disappointing, but there is nothing but to go out and practice on court and work. It is a matter of maintaining this form, while trying to take a little bit of a break now and then be as fit and healthy as I can before Paris.”

Peng Shuai, 2011 Internazionali BNL d’Italia doubles champion:
“We haven’t been playing together very long but we have got to know each other and our games better this year and we’re really happy to win such a big title here in Rome. We will play the French Open together and then Birmingham and Wimbledon and see what happens after that.”

Zheng Jie, 2011 Internazionali BNL d’Italia doubles champion:
“It’s a big title for us before the French Open and it definitely gives us a lot of confidence going in to Roland Garros. I didn’t know it was my 25th doubles final, but that’s really exciting for me. I try to treat every match the same and not worry about the numbers.”