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Sharapova ... her game has 'matured'
SECOND seed Maria Sharapova shocked Kim Clijsters for the first time in five attempts to win the Acura Classic today (AEST).
"I hung in there during some amazing points in the second set," said the Russian.
"I had lost to her four times in a row, so I thought this might be my lucky day. It's amazing to get the title," she said after the 1hr 48min contest.
The Belgian fought off her first set point at 3-5 in a marathon rally that saw her paste a forehand crosscourt winner.
Clijsters scrapped back to 5-5, but could not maintain her momentum as Sharapova easily held to 6-5, and then broke the Belgian to win the set when the world No.2 committed a forehand error.
Both women stepped up their level in the second set, but Clijsters could never find the rhythm that led her to the Stanford title last week.
Sharapova easily held to lead 6-5 before Clijsters completely lost her way, committing a slew of errors to face three match points.
Sharapova missed a backhand return on the first one but, on the second, gunned a backhand that kissed the baseline.
"I fought and tried to go for it, but after long points, it was hard to refocus," said Clijsters, who had her 24-match winning streak on North American hardcourts broken. "I didn't feel that fresh out there."
Clijsters said Sharapova's game has matured.
"She wasn't going for her shots as much," she said. "That's where she's improved. In the past, when her game wasn't on, she was still trying to go for it.
"Today, she mixed it up a little more. You see how a player grows up and that's great."
Sharapova agreed that she has improved her point construction. "Against her, you know you have to be patient," she said. "She gets to a lot of balls and comes up with greats shots defensively. I tried to take that away from her."
