Maria Sharapova recovered from an awful start to defeat Simona Halep and win the Women's Madrid Open title.
It took Sharapova five games to get on the board and she lost the first set in less than half an hour, but the eighth seed turned things around early in the second set and went on to win 1-6 6-2 6-3.
The Russian has developed a formidable record on clay, a surface she used to hate, and seven of her most recent nine titles have now come on the dirt.
It certainly did not look like it would be a day to remember for Sharapova as Halep, the most improved player on the WTA Tour over the last year, raced into a 4-0 lead.
"I really wanted to go one extra step this year"
Halep was ranked 64th at the same time last year, but has since won seven titles and climbed to fifth in the world rankings.
She looked totally at home in her first final at a WTA Premier Mandatory tournament, but Sharapova can always be relied upon to fight to the last and she struck early in the second set.
The Russian, who has not lost to anyone other than Serena Williams on clay in almost three years, broke serve for the first time for 2-1 and went on to level the match.
Sharapova carried her momentum into the decider and opened up a 4-1 lead.
Halep won two games in a row to put the pressure on, but Sharapova pulled away again to clinch victory after an hour and 57 minutes.
It extended her winning run on clay to 11 matches after the former French Open champion also won the title in Stuttgart two weeks ago.
Speaking on court, the 27-year-old said: "Last year I lost in the finals and I really wanted to go one extra step this year, and it's just been such a fantastic week.
"Simona and I had played a couple of times before, but she's really on a different level now. I don't know how I pulled it off."
