Maria Sharapova wins first title since drugs ban
Former world number one Maria
Sharapova won her first title since May 2015, beating Aryna Sabalenka
7-5 7-6 (10-8) in the Tianjin Open final.
The 30-year-old Russian was playing her seventh event since she returned to the tour in April from a 15-month drug ban.
She
trailed 4-1 in both sets before overcoming the 19-year-old Belarusian,
who was contesting her first WTA final, in two hours and five minutes.
It is the five-time Grand Slam winner's 36th WTA tournament victory.
Sharapova was denied a wildcard for the French Open, missed Wimbledon through injury and reached the US Open fourth round as a wildcard before losing to Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova.
The Russian, who began the week ranked 86th in the world, received a wildcard for the event in China.
She
broke a nervous-looking Sabalenka in the opening game but then lost
four games in succession as the teenager struck back with aggressive
returns.
The Russian got back on serve at 4-3 after a 16-point
game and then claimed the decisive break with a forehand winner down the
line.
World number 101 Sabalenka surged into a 5-1 advantage in
the second set with some more fiercely struck returns before Sharapova
responded with five consecutive games to serve for the match at 6-5.
But
she was unable to complete victory and a double fault sent the set into
a tie-break, which saw the players drop four successive points on
serve.
Sabalenka survived three match points but a double fault
gave Sharapova a fourth chance and she duly recorded her first title
since the Italian Open two years and five months ago.
The result means Sharapova moves up to number 57 in the world rankings.
BBC
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