Maria Sharapova Successfully Defends Title, Wins $120,000 and a Sports Car at the 2014 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix

Maria Sharapova has snagged her third consecutive victory in the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix tournament after defeating Ana Ivanovic of Serbia in two out of three sets on April 27, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. It was Sharapova's first title in the 2014 tennis season.

Sharapova easily cruised into the finals of the said tournament, beating the likes of Lucie Safarova, Anastasian Pavlyuchenkova, Agnieszka Radwanska, and Sara Errani, before clashing with Ivanovic in an exasperating three-set match.

Ivanovic didn't make it easy at first for Sharapova after leading ahead 5-0, but the Russian tennis superstar, who currently ranks eighth in the world and just celebrated her 27^th birthday, managed to turn the tables. Sharapova won seven out of nine breakpoint chances, while Ivanovic won five out of 10 opportunities.

Sharapova was extremely blissful of the victory which is also the 30^th title in her professional tennis career. "For the first half of the match, I thought it might not be my day today, but somehow I turned it around," Sharapova told the official Web site of World Tennis Professionals (WTA). She said that she struggled at first during the first quarter of the year, but also revealed that she has been training so hard too. "I had a quite slow beginning to the year, but me and my team have been working hard to get in the position to win titles again, and I'm so happy to be able to do it in Stuttgart," Sharapova added.

According to Sharapova, it feels great being able to win in the tournament for three consecutive times. Of course, it was an added pressure being a Porsche ambassador herself. Nonetheless, she was able to do give pride to the luxury car brand.

"It's really special."

"I feel like I'm a small part of the Porsche family."

In addition to the trophy, Sharapova will bring home the $120,000 prize money. She will also bring home a Porsche sports car. Sharapova is tied with American retired tennis athlete Lindsay Davenport in the third place in the list of the most successful athletes in the history of Porsche Tennis Grand Prix tournament with three wins each. Martina Navratilova of the U.S. holds the top spot with a total of six wins.

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