STUTTGART, Germany (AP) ― Maria Sharapova beat Li Na 6-4, 6-3 on Sunday to successfully defend her WTA Porsche Grand Prix title in a final between the last two French Open champions.

The top-seeded Russian swept to her second title of the year after winning in Indian Wells. She became the first player to retain the Stuttgart title since Lindsey Davenport in 2005.

“I thought it’d be the toughest match of the tournament, but I played my best tennis today,” Sharapova said. “I was able to step it up.”

This was her 29th career title and 16th consecutive win on clay, dating to Rome last year. Since Stuttgart last year, she is 23-1 on clay. Her only loss was to Serena Williams in Madrid.

Sharapova, ranked No. 2, was using the Stuttgart tournament for her clay-court debut this season, as she did last year when she went on to capture the French Open.

The second-seeded Li had a double-fault on match point, with another one earlier in the final game.

Nadal wins Barcelona Open

BARCELONA (AP) ― All those months of hard work and rehab are starting to pay off for Rafael Nadal. Yet he is still not sure what this means for the French Open.

Nadal won the Barcelona Open for the eighth time Sunday, defeating Nicolas Almagro 6-4, 6-3 for his fourth title of the year.

And with French Open about a month down the road, this latest victory is a promising sign that Nadal is getting back to full strength from a knee injury that sidelined him since last summer

“I am very happy,” he said. “It has been an important week for me to win here again and a great source of joy after everything I have been through.”

He has made six straight finals since returning from his knee injury. This title, the 54th of his career, comes one week after his eight-year reign at Monte Carlo ended with a loss to top-ranked Novak Djokovic.