AFP/Stuttgart
Maria Sharapova earned her first WTA title of the year yesterday as she blasted her way past world number one Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 6-4 in the final of the Stuttgart claycourt tournament. This was the 25-year-old Sharapova’s 25th title of her career, but her first in 2012 having lost three finals. It was also revenge for both this year’s Australian Open and Indian Wells defeats at the hands of Azarenka and having also been runner-up at the Miami tournament. Her victory in 84 minutes comes with both a winner’s cheque of 115,000 dollars and a new Porsche sports car. Azarenka needed treatment on her right wrist after the first set and did not look as sharp as she had done throughout the week, but rallied in the second and pushed Sharapova all the way. “I am just happy to win, it’s a good tournament with very good players,” said world number two Sharapova. “It’s a shame she was injured and couldn’t play her normal game “I am just happy to have won the tournament. “I came to Europe a bit earlier than normal before the French Open and was just going to use this tournament as a warm-up, but it works for me.” Sharapova demolished her 22-year-old opponent in the first set needing exactly 30 minutes having raced into a 3-0 lead. In a competitive encounter, the world’s top two players even barged into one another during a change over. The Belarusian world number one raised her game in the second set, but Sharapova got the break she needed to make it 4-3 and then served out to win the tournament on her debut in Stuttgart. “Congratulations to Maria, she’s had a good week here,” said Azarenka. “I am disappointed, of course, but I had a good week here as well and I am looking forward to coming back next year.”Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal confirmed his status as king of clay yesterday when the Spanish powerhouse won his seventh Barcelona Open title with a high-quality 7-6 (7/1), 7-5 defeat of David Ferrer. World number two Nadal went from one history-making weekend to another after claiming an unprecedented eighth straight title a week ago in Monte Carlo where he beat world number one Novak Djokovic. Seven days later, he took nearly three hours to add to his records in Barcelona as he held off compatriot Ferrer. Nadal and his friend were playing their fourth final at the Real Club de Tenis, with Nadal winning all of them dating back to 2008. He now stands as the only man to win two different events at least seven times each. “This was my hardest match since the start of the clay season,” said the winner. “David always takes you to the limit. “I was lucky when I saved break points. The odds were on my side. In the second set David played very close, but I had the luck at the end. I’m so happy and I feel sorry for him. I’m starting to feel my game well on the clay.” Nadal’s victory was his 34th in a row at Barcelona and improved his finals record on clay to 34-4. His only clay finals losses have come against Djokovic and Roger Federer, each beating him twice. The Barcelona triumph in front of 8,000 fans came exactly 10 years to the day that a 15-year-old Nadal made his debut on the ATP Tour in his native Mallorca.