Mauresmo Tops Schnyder for Successful Rome Defense

Top seed Amelie Mauresmo overcame a set deficit to top Patty “Melt” Schnyder 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 and successfully defend her WTA Rome title on Sunday. Mauresmo, who was playing in her fifth final at the Foro Italico, picked up her 17th career victory and second on the season following Antwerp.

"Even though I had a really bad start in the first set, beginning of second set, I was really able to come back pretty strong and made sure I hung in there, I stayed there, I fought," Mauresmo said.

Mauresmo is also the first player to win consecutive Rome titles since Conchita Martinez, who won four straight from 1993-1996.

"I'm very proud of that, because it's a great, big tournament, it's a very strong draw," said Mauresmo of breaking the nine-year jinx. "I think as the tournament was going, I felt stronger and stronger."

Mauresmo improves to 10-5 against Schynder.

"She has a very special game, not like most of the other players," Mauresmo said. "She's able to use a lot of spin, slicing. We saw her with a lot of dropshots on the backhand side as well. She also sometimes come in and is not afraid to do some dropshot volleys or stuff like that. So she's really being able to do many different things, and we don't see these kind of player very often."

Said Schnyder, "At the end, she was a little too powerful, I think. Her spin was really giving me a lot of problems, and I could not really play the game I wanted at the end. But, still, I had the chances and she saved some great breakpoints with great serves. Shows she's a real champion, and today she deserved to win."

In the doubles, after finishing as the doubles runner-ups in Berlin, No.2 seeds Cara Black and Liezel Huber were able to go one step better in Rome, defeating Maria Kirilenko and Anabel “Funky Cold” Medina Garrigues, 6-0, 4-6, 6-1 in Sunday's final.