04 April,2011 08:44 AM IST | | AFP
Victoria Azarenka defeated Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-4 here Saturday to win the WTA's prestigious Miami hardcourt crown for the second time.
Azarenka, the 21-year-old eighth seed from Belarus, took full advantage of Sharapova's struggles, as the former World No 1 held serve just once and committed 43 unforced errors.
After the two traded breaks of serve in the opening two games, Azarenka won nine straight games to take charge. Trailing 6-1, 4-0, Sharapova dug in, finally holding serve and breaking Azarenka twice to close to 4-3 in the second set.
Once again, however, Sharapova was broken, giving Azarenka a 5-3 lead with her seventh double fault of the match. In the next game, Sharapova saved two match points before Azarenka double-faulted on break point.
But Sharapova couldn't follow up.
