Russian teenager Maria Sharapova claimed her first Pacific Life Open title at Indian Wells with a straight sets triumph over her compatriot Elena Dementieva in the final on Saturday. The third-seeded star overcame soaring desert winds as she crushed Dementieva 6-1, 6-2 and captured her first title since last June. The former world number one raced to an easy first set win before she faltered early in the second as Dementieva went 2-0 up, however Sharapova quickly recovered grabbing the following six games to earn the title. “It feels really great. Honestly I was having a really tough end of the year last year,” Sharapova was quoted as saying by the tournament's official website. Sharapova, who reached the final in Dubai last month and the semi-finals at the Australian Open and Tokyo earlier this season, has been fighting for a title since she won in Birmingham last June. “These kinds of tournaments they mean a lot to me, they give me more confidence because I've known I've put in the hard work... You know, it's definitely good to see that it did pay off today,” said the former Wimbledon champion.
Elena Dementieva Fourth-seeded Dementieva, who ousted Justine Henin-Hardenne out of the semi-finals, said that dealing with the tough conditions was the key to Sharapova's victory. The Russian world number eight had also endured four three-set matches prior to her final match as opposed to Sharapova, who hadn't dropped a set all week. “I think it was very difficult to play today. I think Maria, she was able to handle the situation and play with the wind better today,” said Dementieva. "I was mentally prepared. I wanted to play against her. I wanted to face her in Tokyo. I wanted to play her here.” “For me it's interesting. It's a great challenge for me to play against Maria. I feel I wasn't at my best today, and she was playing great.” Sharapova, who next heads to Miami where she was a finalist last year, is now 3-1 against Dementieva.
