Sharapova Wins Her First Clay Tournament

AMELIA ISLAND, FLA. — Maria Sharapova entered the Bausch & Lomb Championships with hopes of gaining some experience on clay.

She got a lot more than that — her first title on the soft, slippery surface.

Sharapova overcame five double-faults and 33 unforced errors to beat Dominika Cibulkova 7–6 (7), 6–3 yesterday. The top-seeded Russian became the first player on the WTA Tour to win three times in 2008. She also won the Australian Open and at Doha.

"I've been fortunate that I could start the clay season early and that I could get a win and my first title on clay, which is exciting," she said.

Sharapova improved to 22–1 this year, earned a crystal vase and $95,500, and maybe more important, gained valuable experience in the first clay-court event of the season.

Sharapova played only one event on clay before last year's French Open, where she lost in the semifinals in straight sets to Ana Ivanovic. The loss prompted her to focus more attention on the fast, sometimes unpredictable surface this time around.

It started at Amelia Island, where she needed a combined six hours to win matches in the third and quarterfinal rounds.