Sharapova and Simon conclude HEAD trophy double

Maria Sharapova and Gilles Simon produced a trophy double on Sunday for HEAD racquet rebels, with the WTA No. 2 winning the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart while Simon lifted the ATP honours at the BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy in Bucharest.

Sharapova, playing her YouTek IG Instinct MP stunned world No. 1 and hot rival Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 6-4 to walk away with a prize cheque and a Porsche in the German automotive centre. It was the first WTA title of the season for Sharapova.

"In such a tough tournament with difficult opponents, it was a good week," said the HEAD winner. "Azarenka was injured today, maybe she could not perform well but I'm happy to be the champion here this year. I was going to use this event as a warm-up to the French Open. Maybe I should continue doing it like that," said the 25-year-old. The HEAD ace won her 25th career title.

Simon used his YouTek IG Prestige MP to claim the tenth title of his career and his third in the Romanian capital since 2007, beating Italy's Fabio Fognini 6-4, 6-3. He lifted his first title since Hamburg last summer as he dominated against Fognini, whom he has now beaten four times without a loss. The HEAD right-hander was appearing in his first final of the season and 12th overall on the ATP. He continued his tradition of winning at least a title per season since 2007.

The Frenchman finished with two aces at the later stages and saved 10 of 12 break points. "I played a great match today. It was very difficult. I had to run a lot. You really have the feeling that you are never in control of the game. I'm always happy when I win a tournament like this. People think it's easy being the No. 1 seed, but on the court it's very close every time. I'm very proud to win this tournament for the third time and to bring the trophy back home."