María José Martínez Sánchez defeated Jelena Jankovic 76(5) 75 in 2 hours and 20 minutes to win the WTA Rome Open, her first title of the season.

This was her third and by far biggest career singles title on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. She won in Bogota and Bastaad last year, the tournaments that are never attended by top players.

"This is a very important moment. I worked so hard to get here, and even if this goes down in history, it hasn't sunken in yet," Martínez Sánchez said. "In the first round I was losing. The key is to fight, fight, fight to the end. You don't have to set a limit for yourself."



JJ, who was the favorite in this match, was obviously frustrated throughout as Martinez-Sanchez confused her with a range of slices, spins, drop-shots and serve-volleying.

"María José is very different from most girls. She makes a lot of drop shots and volleys, and she's also left-handed, which makes it a little bit tricky to play her," Jankovic said. "I tried my best. I came back in both sets and at those times I prayed to hold my serve. I didn't manage it today. She won and credit to her."


"My game isn't typical, not even to the other Spanish players, but that's the key. I like doing a lot of different things, coming to the net, playing drop shots," Martínez Sánchez said. "When I was small, Martina Navratilova was still on the TV, and since I was young I have always liked coming to the net. When I was seven or eight I always hit the ball then went straight into the net."

Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez beats Jelena Jankovic to win Rome title