TOP seed Maria Sharapova won her first clay court title by defeating Dominika Cibulkova 7-6 (9-7) 6-3 in the final of the Bausch & Lomb Championship at Amelia Island.The Australian Open champion Sharapova dispatched Cibulkova in just under two hours for her third title of the year and 19th of her career.It was the first championship on clay for the 20-year-old Sharapova, who had been 0-3 in previous showings.
Despite being a heavy favourite at the tier II event, Sharapova was challenged on the green clay by Cibulkova.The Russian beauty was well rested as she walked over in Saturday's semi-finals against American Lindsay Davenport, who could not play due to an illness.The 18-year-old Cibulkova battled evenly with Sharapova in the first set, one that the Russian won in the tiebreak only when the Slovakian dumped a forehand into the net.
Despite being a heavy favourite at the tier II event, Sharapova was challenged on the green clay by Cibulkova.The Russian beauty was well rested as she walked over in Saturday's semi-finals against American Lindsay Davenport, who could not play due to an illness.The 18-year-old Cibulkova battled evenly with Sharapova in the first set, one that the Russian won in the tiebreak only when the Slovakian dumped a forehand into the net.
No comments:
Post a Comment