MARIA SHARAPOVA beat Vera Zvonareva 6-1, 2-6, 6-0 Sunday in the Qatar Open final in Doha, remaining unbeaten this season and earning her 18th career title.

The Australian Open champion had a decent test from the world No. 27, who is coming back well from wrist and ankle injuries.

Sharapova’s improvement since last year has come not only from overcoming her shoulder problems but careful attention to injury-avoiding detail, as the manner in which she worked her way carefully into this match suggested.

“I made a slow start and then played really well to win the first set,” she explained.

“And there were a couple of rallies at the start of it when I scrambled to win them, which gave me a lot of confidence. I felt like things were changing after that.”

(SD-Agencies)