Sharapova wins first claycourt title

Maria Sharapova [Images] captured her first claycourt title when she defeated Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova 7-6, 6-3 in the final of the Amelia Island Championships on Sunday.

Sharapova became the first woman to win three titles this season following her success at the Australian Open and Qatar Open and improved her 2008 win-loss record to 22-1.

She suffered her only defeat this season against Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semi-finals at Indian Wells.

The Russian admitted winning the title had given her a major boost ahead of next month's claycourt Grand Slam at Roland Garros, even though the green clay in Florida [Images] plays faster than the red dirt used in Europe.

"Considering that I don't play so much on clay and that last year I only played one event going into the French Open, this is definitely a big plus," said the top seed.

"Right now the main goal is just to be healthy through this swing of tournaments and be as healthy as I can be with as many matches as I can get under my wing before the French Open."

Sharapova was pushed all the way in the opening set and eventually captured it 9-7 in the tiebreak when Cibulkova sent a backhand into the net.

The Florida-based Sharapova cut down on her unforced errors from 26 in the first set to just seven in the second set to wrap up the match.

"I was making a few unforced errors in that opening set but I didn't let that bother me. I still had to go for my shots because that's the way I play," said Sharapova, who will celebrate her 21st birthday on Saturday.

Cibulkova, playing in her first WTA final, was hampered by a leg injury and received treatment from the trainer in the second set after breaking Sharapova for a 2-1 lead.

"Today I was making quite a few mistakes and I felt a little more tired... and I pulled the muscle some time in the first set," she said.

"I tried to end the points a little quicker after that. I didn't want to run around on the court after that as it would feel worse."

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