Defending champion Maria Sharapova of Russia overcame the loss of the second set to win her first singles title of the season by ousting Patty Schnyder of Switzerland 6-2, 3-6 and 6-0 on Sunday at the 1,340,000-US-dollar WTA event Acura Classic in San Diego, CA, USA.

Playing before a capacity crowd of 6,500 on Stadium Court, Sharapova, ranked second in the world, converted six of 10 break points as she took one hour and 54 minutes to the championship.

World No. 2 and tope seed here, Sharapova enlarged her career head-to-head meetings with Schnyder to 6-1. She improved her 2007 match record to 31-8 in capturing her first singles title of the year and the 16th singles title of her career. With the victory, Sharapova was awarded a check for 196,600 US dollars and a Acura sports utility vehicle for winning the championship.

“It’s always good to win a title,” Sharapova said. “But to actually come back the year after and back it up is good.”

Schnyder, the No. 11 seed, had no answers for Sharapova in the first set as her Russian opponent consistently hit the lines with forehands and backhands.

“In the first set, I felt like I hit some really good shots, especially when she was serving,” Sharapova said. “It opened some doors for me.”

Schnyder took the first game but failed to break Sharapova’s serve by missing three break points in the following game. Then the game was totally controlled by the Russian who hit hard and finished in favor of Sharapova at 6-2.

After 29-year-old Schnyder took the second set with a score of 6-3, the rhythm of the match went again to Sharapova’s when she made a light job by blanking the Swiss in six games.


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