Maria Sharapova rallies to beat Simona Halep for Madrid Open title

Maria Sharapova bounced back from a poor start to defeat Simona Halep 1-6, 6-2 and 6-3 on Sunday and win the Madrid Open title.

Sharapova, who lost to Serena Williams in last year's final, crumbled in the opening set when she held her serve just once.

But Halep's serve dipped in the second set, and Sharapova started hitting pinpoint ground strokes that kept the Romanian running. The ninth-ranked Russian converted both her break points in the set to even the match.

Sharapova then pulled away in the deciding set with an early break to follow up her triumph in Stuttgart with a maiden title in Madrid.