At the Italian Open, unseeded player Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez defeated No. 7 player Jelena Jankovic in a 7-6 (5), 7-5 game that gave Martinez Sanchez the Championship title.
While Jankovic managed to defeat the hard-hitting Williams sisters one by one, she had a difficult time finding a way to answer the drop shots and touch volleys that Martinez Sanchez brought to the court.
On the other hand, Martinez Sanchez was able to defeat the Caroline Wozniacki, who sits at No. 2, and even knocked out Ana Ivanovic the top seeded player in the world. Martinez Sanchez, who sits outside of the Top 20 players in women’s tennis is even shocked at the results. She said, “It was really an unbelievable tournament for me. What can I say? It’s incredible.”
Jankovic was eyeing the title to add to her list at the Foro Italico, but during the whole match, she found herself sprawled on the clay in more than one instance.
Obviously bewildered, Jankovic said, “She played so well… She really killed me with all those drop shots, and I killed myself falling all over the place.”
The Italian Open is deemed as an important warmup for players on clay-court in preparation for the French Open which is coming in two weeks’ time.