Mauresmo defends Italian Open title

ROME - Amelie Mauresmo rallied to defend her Italian Open title Sunday with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over eighth-seeded Patty Schnyder.

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After trading breaks early in the second set, Mauresmo became more aggressive after a verbal exchange with chair umpire Romano Grillotti.

A linesman ruled Schnyder's serve was in, but Mauresmo didn't play the ball, circling a mark on the clay instead. Grillotti came down and pointed to a different mark and ruled the shot was good.

"I was very (upset) with him because I showed him the mark, but he said it was another mark but he was not able to show me the other mark," Mauresmo said.

Four points later, after another of Schnyder's shots landed with a visibly wide margin outside the line, Mauresmo extended her arms and glared at Grillotti in a mocking gesture.

After two more points, Mauresmo hit a forehand winner to break again and take a 5-3 lead, then held serve at love to close out the set.

In the third set, Mauresmo got a break and went up 3-2. She maintained the advantage, then knelt down and kissed the clay when Schnyder's shot sailed long to clinch the match.

Mauresmo improved to 25-6 this season and won her 17th career title. Winning this $1.3 million clay-court title also gives her momentum for the French Open, which starts May 23.

"Now I'm going to rest a little bit, then start to practice again for the French Open. I hope I play like this," said Mauresmo, a Frenchwoman who has never advanced past the quarterfinals of her home Grand Slam.

Schnyder won the first set with two service breaks, saving three break points in the final game before closing out the set with a powerful ace up the middle.

Using spins, slices and angled shots to put Mauresmo on the defensive, Schnyder also won several early exchanges at the net with passing shots.

Schnyder, who comes from the same Swiss city - Basel - as top-ranked men's player Roger Federer, upset top-seeded Maria Sharapova in the semifinals after dropping the first set. Currently ranked 13th, her runner-up performance should be enough to put Schnyder back in the top 10.