Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain holds her championship trophy after defeating Jelena Jankovic in the final of the 2010 WTA Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, Italy.
It was the biggest title of her career for unseeded Martinez Sanchez, currently ranked 26th. On her way to the final, she defeated No. 2 ranked Caroline Wozniacki in the 3rd round, the No. 8 seed, Lucie Safarova in the Quarterfinals, and former World No. 1, Ana Ivanovic in the Semifinals.
Martinez Sanchez got up 4-1 in the first set before Jankovic pulled back to have set point on serve at 6-5. But Martinez Sanchez forced a tie-break which she won 7-5 to take the first set. Jankovic was broken twice in the second set, but got both of those breaks back. However, Martinez Sanchez broke Jankovic for a third time and clinched her victory by nailing her second match point with a serve and volley winner.
Jankovic won this tournament in 2007 and 2008, but a third title eluded her this week. After the match, Jankovic had this to say: “It was really difficult. She plays very differently to most girls, lots of drop shots, serve and volley and she’s left-handed. She mixes up her game, she doesn’t have one weapon. She’s tricky with all these things she does.”
In spite of losing, Jankovic will climb from 7th to 4th in the world rankings on Monday.
