Sharapova overcomes Davenport

Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova (picture) beat a hobbling Lindsay Davenport 6-1 3-6 7-6 to win the Pan Pacific Open yesterday.

The Russian converted her fourth match point to take the third set tiebreak 7-5 and halt Davenport's bid for a record fifth title at the $1.3 million event.

Sharapova's eighth career title means she will rise from fourth to third when the new world rankings are released today.

"I had belief in myself," she said. "I don't want to set a timetable for myself to be number one. My job's just to go out and perform."

It had looked as though Sharapova would run away with the match as she took the first set in just 22 minutes in Tokyo.

Davenport began her sixth Pan Pacific final with her left thigh heavily taped after straining her hamstring in practice and could barely run during a one-sided first set.

The world number one went to the locker room for a medical time-out after the first set and the American fought back to take the second as Sharapova's concentration wavered.

Still moving gingerly, Davenport took more risks in an attempt to keep the points short and the frustration began to show on Sharapova's face.

"I took the time-out to get more support for my leg but I realised at that point that it was going to hurt. I started to go for my shots but I didn't expect it to stay that close," said Davenport.

However, Sharapova refused to buckle. Muttering to herself constantly in Russian, the 17-year-old matched Davenport ace for ace as the third set went with serve.

The Siberian-born Sharapova beat Davenport in last year's Wimbledon semi-finals in their only previous meeting. She came up with the big shots again to earn four match points.

Sharapova squandered three of them - just as she did in her semi-final loss to Serena Williams at the Australian Open.

But this time she held her nerve and ended Davenport's brave resistance with a forehand down the line after one hour 47 minutes.

Sharapova earned $189,000 for her third title in Japan to take her career earnings above the $3 million mark. She also won the Japan Open in 2003 and 2004.