Victoria Azarenka of Belarus defeated an error-plagued Russian Maria Sharapova 6-1 6-4 on Saturday to win the Sony Ericsson Open for the second time in three years. Azarenka's victory, her sixth career title, will lift her to sixth in the world rankings next week - equalling her career best standing.
The 21-year-old was on top from the outset - breaking Sharapova's first two serves - although she also lost her own first serve game in a scrappy start to the match. Sharapova, currently ranked 13th in the world, was seeking her first tournament win since May but never found her rhythm nor her serve which she held just once in the match.
The Russian has now lost all three of the finals she has reached at Key Biscayne. "It's obviously very disappointing given the other finals here as well but she was definitely the better player today and she has had a great tournament," said Sharapova.
Former world number one Sharapova made 43 unforced errors, gifting points to Azarenka, who showed a good range of shots, particularly her delicate slice. Nonetheless, Sharapova managed to ground out an opportunity for a comeback in the second set when she broke Azarenka, who double faulted on break point, to move within a game at 5-4.
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