Sharapova Overpowers Wozniacki for BNP Paribas Title
Maria Sharapova was a 6-2, 6-2 winner Sunday over Caroline Wozniacki on Sunday in the finals of the BNP Paribas Open, capturing her first WTA title of the year and the 28th of her career. Sharapova was the clear aggressor during the one-hour, 21-minute match, as she had more unforced errors than Wozniacki, 25 to 19, but she also had over 15 times as many winners as Wozniacki, 33 to 2.
"She’s someone who makes you hit so many balls if she has time, and that’s not the way I want to be and not how to control points. It was really important to take away that time she likes to have," said Sharapova. "I didn’t feel like I played my best tennis in the beginning of the tournament, but sometimes that’s the way it works. It’s always better to work yourself through the tournament and get better as it ends than to start extremely well and don’t feel like you’re gaining momentum as the tournament goes on."
Having also won Indian Wells in 2006, Sharapova is now the eighth player in the 25-year history of the tournament to win the title twice, as seven players to have accomplished the feat are Martina Navratilova, Mary Joe Fernandez, Steffi Graf, Lindsay Davenport, Serena Williams, Daniela Hantuchova and Kim Clijsters.
"She was putting pressure on me from the start," said Wozniacki. "I felt like everything she wanted to do today was going in—she was making very few errors, and when she did, it was at times where it didn’t really matter. Her first and second serves were pretty much the same speed, she stepped into the returns, and even when she was running, she still came down with some shots that were going very close to the lines. I have to say she just played too well."
