Sharapova Ousts Defending Champion

There will be a new champion at the 2006 Acura Classic.

Sixth-seeded Mary Pierce, the defending Acura Classic champion, was eliminated as she fell to second-seeded Maria Sharapova, 6-2, 6-3, in an afternoon quarterfinal match on Stadium Court.

The match, which took one-hour and eight minutes, began with each player holding serve twice. At 2-2 in the first set, Sharapova took control of the match, losing only seven points in the next four games.

Serving for the first set at 5-2, Sharapova fell behind, 15-30, but tied the game as she executed a backhand crosscourt winner to get to 30-30. Two points later, on set point, she crushed a high a high forehand volley to put the set away.

Sharapova began the second set by breaking Pierce at love in the opening game. That set the tone for the rest of the set as she later increased her lead to 4-2.

Pierce served at 5-3 to stay in the match, but Sharapova broke for the fourth time to close out the match. The Russian was so dominating she never lost serve and faced only a single break point all afternoon.

“I thought I played solid. First set I got up a break and felt I was returning really well,” Sharapova said in her post-match conference. “She’s (Pierce) always dangerous. She’s a pretty big hitter.

Sharapova advances to a semifinal match against fifth-seeded Patty Schnyder. “That’s another tricky one,” she said when asked about Saturday’s semifinal. “The direction of (Schnyder’s) spin takes a while to get used to.”

After missing the last six months with a foot injury, Pierce came into her first tournament back with low expectations and was happy to be competing again. “It was encouraging. It didn’t feel too bad,” Pierce said. “I’m very confident that within a couple of weeks I’ll be feeling pretty good about myself and my game.”

Pierce added, “It would have been nice, of course, to defend my title and win here again…I did my best.”

• Sharapova is ranked number four in the world.
• Sharapova is making her second career Acura Classic appearance. She reached the quarterfinals in 2004.
• Sharapova improves her 2006 match record to 35-7.
• Sharapova is now 3-1 in career head-to-head meetings with Pierce.
• Pierce is ranked number nine in the world.
• Pierce is making her tenth career Acura Classic appearance. She was the 2005 champion and runner-up in 1998.
• Pierce has won 18 career tour titles.
• Pierce has represented France in Fed Cup play and the Olympics.

• Schnyder advances to the semifinals where she will meet second seeded Maria Sharapova.
• Schnyder now leads Dementieva 6-5 in career head-to-head meetings.
• Schnyder is ranked number eight in the world.
• Schnyder is making her fourth career Acura Classic appearance. She reached the quarterfinals last year.
• Schnyder’s 2006 match record improves to 33-15.
• Schnyder reached the semifinals of the 2004 Australian Open.
• Dementieva is ranked sixth in the world.
• Dementieva is now 33-13 in 2006.
• Dementieva was making her seventh career Acura Classic appearance. She reached the semifinals in 2004.

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