Maria Sharapova defends her Rome title in rain marred final

Zeenews Sports Bureau

Rome: Li Na couldn’t hide her frustration after losing a match that suffered interruptions from rain as Maria Sharapova defended her crown winning 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) on Sunday. Li was on song as she had taken the first set and was leading 4-0 in the second but then 24 unforced errors gave Sharapova the chance to claw back and claim the set 6-4. After that the Russian seemed on course to take the title before it began to drizzle. Li came back and took the third set to a tiebreaker. But the rain forced them to stay inside the locker room for two hours and when it stopped, it lasted for only 5 minutes as Sharapova won the set 7-6 (7-5). The match lasted for 2 hours, 52 minutes. "It was a really difficult match what with so many swings and having to wait an hour or two hours and then a tiebreaker in the final. It almost feels difficult to have a loser and a winner as it all came down to one game, but I am happy.” Sharapova said. “The match was a joke. It`s tough to play in such heavy rain and then you go and rest for two hours and then play again in heavy rain. … But I still have positive things to take away. She was just stronger and tougher." Li said after the match.