A Stunning, Left-Handed Rome Champion: No, It’s Not Rafa, but Maria José

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at Internationaled.org

Published: May 9, 2010

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María José Martinez Sanchez, that is, the new women’s champion of Rome. And yes, she also happens to be Spanish.

It’s another of those heart-warming stories that has pervaded the tennis tour in 2010.

It’s up there with Ivan Ljubicic winning his first Masters event at 31.

Or Andy Roddick reaching back-to-back Masters finals on home soil, and winning one of them, Miami, for the first time.

Or Justine Henin taking the Premier title in Stuttgart just four months after her return from retirement.

Or Juan Carlos Ferrero, aged 30, reaching three consecutive finals and his highest ranking since 2004.

For the lovely Martinez Sanchez is now 27, and has just won is her first singles Premier title.

Although she had won two titles before this, both on clay, they were at International level—Bogota and Bastad in 2009. So Rome is a truly break-through moment for her.

There’s never been any doubting the Spanish woman’s talent. But her very special skills and style have, until now, reaped greater rewards in her doubles career where she has acquired 13 WTA titles since she turned pro in 1996.

She is now ranked No. 6 in the world in that specialism, and won the Hopman Cup in January with fellow Spaniard Tommy Robredo.

But there have been signs of late that she has other ambitions, despite almost giving up singles tennis a couple of years ago. With almost a dozen years on the circuit, and not a singles title to her name, it was easy to see why.

But in 2008, she made the finals in Barcelona. Then 2009 brought those first two WTA titles, as well as a semifinal place in Bali. These successes took her into the top 30 for the first time.

This year, she made the quarterfinals at Indian Wells, and in Rome, as an unseeded player, took out some of the top players in the competition.

The home favorite, top-20 Francesca Schiavone, herself enjoying a late ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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