Battling Sharapova wins Rome title

Maria Sharapova saved a match point and defied a two-hour rain delay as she staged an extraordinary comeback to claim the Rome Masters title with a 4-6 6-4 7-6 (7/5) win over China’s reigning French Open champion Li Na.

Eighth seed Li looked well on course for her first tour title since last year’s historic win at Roland Garros as she led 6-4 4-0, and despite a Sharapova revival fashioned a match point on the Russian’s serve at 6-5.