Maria Sharapova wins Acura Classic

Maria Sharapova won the Acura Classic trophy in San Diego on Sunday, having defeated top seed Kim Clijsters 7-5 7-5.

Maria, for whom Acura Classic was the first tournament after Wimbledon, lost no set en route to the victory. Regardless, only a few would have staked on her before the Sunday match, as she was facing world No. 2 and Acura Classic top seed Kim Clijsters of Belgium.

Well-aware how strong Clijsters’ defense is and of her ability to take the most sophisticated balls, Sharapova tried to be attentive and cautious to the maximum extent. In the first set, the Russian broke at 5-3 and was serving for a set, but lost the following play off. Clijsters broke in return and leveled the score. Nevertheless, Maria Sharapova managed to prevent the tie break and take the set 5-7.

Maria Sharapova won the second set with no tie break as well, though the rivals were holding own serve for 11 games in a row. But Maria broke in the end, while Clijsters made a raft of errors and yielded the trophy. The match lasted for an hour and 48 minutes. In San Diego, Sharapova won her 12th career title and the 2nd this season. In addition to $196,000 , she got the status of one of the U.S. Open favorite.

Maria Sharapova advance to Acura Classic final

Maria Sharapova used her strong serve to defeat Patty Schnyder 7-5, 6-4 on Saturday to advance to the finals of the Acura Classic. Sharapova's dominance on her serve was also the key to her winning the second game of the second set, which lasted 24 points and took more than 15 minutes to complete.

"I think I served smart," said Maria, ranked No. 4. "That was probably the greatest thing about my serving. I was consistently smart. I mixed up it up good and mixed up the pace good." Maria Sharapova will meet either top-seeded Kim Clijsters of Belgium or No. 7 seed Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic, who played Saturday night in the other semifinal. Clijsters, ranked No. 2, will attempt to extend her 23-match winning streak in North American summer hardcourt tournaments. Sharapova has yet to beat Clijsters in four career matches, and has never played the 17-year-old Vaidisova. Maria Sharapova reached her fourth final this season, but has won just once at Indian Wells in March.


That's when Sharapova converted the only break point of the first set. Sharapova hit a forehand winner off a short ball to take a 6-5 lead. She then served out the set. "I didn't do too good at the beginning. She won her serve too easy," said the eighth-ranked Schnyder. "She has a huge serve. Each and every point she's like 100 per cent concentrated and focused. She really never gives you a breath. Just a really complete player."