CINCINNATI (AP) — Maria Sharapova overcame a first-set letdown on Sunday, rallying to beat Jelena Jankovic 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3 in the finals of the Western & Southern Open.
The fourth-seeded Russian survived a match full of service breaks — 16 in all, seven in the final set alone — for her second title of the season. Sharapova won the last five games of the second-set tiebreaker to keep it going. The match lasted 2 hours, 49 minutes and had a pair of brief rain delays.
The 14th-ranked Jankovic extended her streak of 17 months without a singles title. She won in Cincinnati in 2009, but hasn’t gotten a championship since Indian Wells on March 21 last year.
