Sharapova Into All Russian Final
Third seed Maria Sharapova stormed into the final of the Pacific Life Open in Indian wells with an impressive win over Martina Hingis on Friday.
The pair had each won one of their two meetings so far this year but Sharapova dominated this one from the start.
Hingis could not contain a pumped-up Sharapova, particularly on her own serve, and the Russian won 6-3 6-3.
In the final she faces compatriot Elena Dementieva after she beat top seed Justine Henin-Hardenne 2-6 7-5 7-5.
Sharapova said: “The score doesn’t show how physically and mentally challenging every point was.”
“The quality of the match was very high. Mentally, I told myself: ‘It doesn’t matter how many balls she gets, do everything possible to get one more ball back’.”
Hingis said: “For sure since 4-1 I started to play better. All these chances I had and games I could have won, she won anyway.”
“You’ve got to have the stamina.”
