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Clijsters beats Sharapova to claim second straight title
Kim Clijsters's resurgence continued as the former world number one from Belgium defeated second-seeded Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova 6-3, 7-5 to claim the WTA title at Key Biscayne.
As she did at Indian Wells, California, last week, Clijsters made her championship run from the unseeded ranks, reconfirming her return from the wrist injury that sidelined her for much of 2004.
The 21-year-old shrugged off a rain delay of nearly an hour, then persevered as both players struggled to hold serve in a second set played in blustery winds under threatening skies.
"I think what I did very well today was to be really patient," Clijsters said. "On each side of the court you have to produce different tactics. I think I adjusted better to conditions."
After two exchanges of service breaks in the second set, Clijsters claimed a 4-3 lead with a remarkable break point, in which she managed to lob back a Sharapova overhead to keep the rally alive until the unsettled Sharapova missed.
"I was just trying to make that ball, and make her go for the winner," Clijsters said. "She missed that forehand inside-out.
"At the time you just throw it up and hope it goes in."
Clijsters consolidated her advantage by holding her serve to love.
But her first chance to serve for the match came against the wind, and Sharapova was able to record another break for 5-5.
"I knew it was going to be tough," Clijsters said. "I was happy I could serve again for it from the other side."
Clijsters gave herself that chance when she broke Sharapova to lead 6-5, a game in which the Russian led 40-15 and which went to deuce three times.
"I didn't take that chance of holding my serve," Sharapova said. "That would have put some pressure on her. Those are the chances that I still have to learn to take. She just managed to play a little better in those points, and I was a little sloppy."
Although Clijsters failed to convert her first two match points, she finished off the match with two unreturnable serves.
"This is even harder to believe," Clijsters said of the triumph, with which she joined German great Steffi Graf as the only women to win back-to-back titles at Indian Wells and Miami.
"This whole trip has been so much fun," added Clijsters, who started Indian Wells ranked 133rd in the world, jumped to 38th after beating world number one Lindsay Davenport in the final there, and will now ascend to No. 17 in the rankings.
Sharapova, ranked number three in the world, missed out on a chance to claim the number two spot currently held by France's Amelie Mauresmo.
In the opening set, Sharapova faced a break point in the fourth game when rain stopped play.
When they returned to the court, however, she won three points in a row to level the set at 2-2. Clijsters earned the decisive break in the sixth game, then fought off two break points in the ninth to take the set. Sharapova was the fourth of the top five seeds to fall in Miami to Clijsters. The Belgian had ousted Mauresmo in the semi-finals, and also beat fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva of Russia and compatriot Anastasia Myskina, the fifth seed and reigning French Open champion, as she marched to the title without dropping a set. "After a few matches, I was feeling a little tired," Clijsters said, acknowledging that she hadn't been at all sure she could go the distance in Miami. "I thought maybe I wasn't going to last. I had a few aches and pains. Thankfully, they didn't get any worse." Sharapova was impressed with Clijsters's staying power. "I think the biggest surprise is that it was her 14th match, and I didn't feel like she was physically fatigued," Sharapova said. "You could see her running after every ball and giving it all she's got out there. She was recovering very well. After 14 matches, I'm not at the point where I can do that."
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