Sharapova wins WTA tournament in Rome

ROME, May 15 (UPI) -- Maria Sharapova collected her 23rd WTA title with a straight-set victory Sunday over Samantha Stosur at the BNL International tennis tournament in Rome.

Sharapova, seeded seventh, improved to 8-0 in her career versus the sixth-seeded Stosur with a 6-2, 6-4 win in 1 hour, 23 minutes. She won 58 percent of the points in the match.

It was the first championship for Sharapova since last May when she won at Strasbourg, France. She'd had four runner-up finishes since then.

Stosur, who was seeking her third career title, has lost her last three finals appearances.

Sharapova lost serve once in each set Sunday but answered with five breaks in Stosur's nine service games. She won more points -- 25-22 -- on Stosur's serve than Stosur managed.

Sharapova didn't drop a set over the week's play in Rome.

She earned $360,000 in winning the championship. Stosur took home $180,000.