Belgium's Kim Clijsters continued her remarkable comeback from a career-threatening wrist injury by beating Russian second seed Maria Sharapova 6-3, 7-5 to win the Nasdaq-100 Open on Saturday.
The unseeded former world number one missed most of last year but has been beaten only once since returning to the WTA Tour in Antwerp in February.
She has won her last 14 matches to become only the second woman, after German great Steffi Graf, to win the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells and the Nasdaq-100 Open back to back.
Her sole defeat came to Venus Williams in the Antwerp quarter-finals. Since then she has beaten six top 10-ranked opponents in a row, including Wimbledon champion Sharapova.
"You can wake me up now," said Clijsters. "These last four weeks in America have been incredible. I was hoping to just win two or three matches at both events to get some match rhythm. This is really hard to believe."
She is the first unseeded women's champion at the Nasdaq-100 Open and, at 38 in the world, the lowest-ranked woman to win the title.
"I was out for a year and you realise how much you miss it," the Belgian added. "I think that's why I'm playing so well. I'm enjoying myself."
The victory over Sharapova means that Clijsters, who was ranked 133 at the start of Indian Wells, will move back into the top 20 when the new rankings are released on Monday.
Sharapova will remain at number three, behind world number one Lindsay Davenport of the U.S. and France's Amelie Mauresmo.
The Belgian was helped in the final by two rain delays, the first coming after just three games and lasting 54 minutes and the second disrupting play briefly at the start of the second set.
GREAT PERSONALITY
Sharapova appeared to be the more unsettled of the two players, both by the interruptions and by the gusty, overcast conditions which prevailed even when it was not raining.
"Conditions were definitely not easy," said Sharapova. "Overall I didn't think it was the best match because of that. I didn't take my chances when I had them. Those are the chances I still need to learn to take. I was a little bit sloppy."
The crucial break came for Clijsters when Sharapova served at 2-3 down in the first set, having been harried into errors by the Belgian's quick-footed court coverage. The Russian had break-points when Clijsters served for the first set but could not force the break back.
After a short pause while drizzle drifted across court, play resumed in the second set with three exchanges of service breaks before Clijsters finally went 6-5 up and served out for the title.
"She has a great personality and it's always great to have someone around like that, but she's also a great competitor on the court, which this game needs," said Sharapova.
"I think the biggest surprise was that it was her 14th match and yet I didn't feel like she was physically fatigued at all. She is a very strong girl and she can play all day. Running from corner to corner is like a piece of cake for her."
