Tennis - Sharapova makes easy work of Stuttgart title defence

World number two Maria Sharapova saved her best performance of the week for last when she successfully defended her Stuttgart Grand Prix title with a 6-4 6-3 victory over second seed Li Na of China to kick off her clay-court season in style.

               


                

Maria has successfully defended her Porsche Tennis Grand Prix title as she defeated No.2 seed Li Na of China 6-4 6-3 in Stuttgart. This is Maria's 29th career title and her second title of 2013.



Maria came out firing in the first set as snatched a break in the first game, with a sizzling backhand down the line that left Na stranded. Na sent a crosscourt backhand into the net to give Maria another break as she went 4-1 up.The 2011 Roland Garros champion came back in the next game and took her own first break when Maria sent a forehand long after a long rally. Maria quickly established a double break cushion, then served out the first set to love when Na sank a return into the net after another well-placed serve.

In the second set, Maria had her first break point of the set in the fifth game but was unable to convert it but in Na's next service game, Maria broke when the Chinese player hit a volley wide after a thrilling point to lead 4-3. The momentum Maria gained from winning that game continued as she didn't drop another game and won match point when Na hit a double fault.

In the WTA rankings, Maria remains in second place with 10240 points.