 Coming into the 2006 Acura Classic, former Wimbledon champion, Maria Sharapova had never won the Tier I event on the hardcourts in Carlsbad and she had never defeated her nemesis, Kim Clijsters of Belgium.
In fact, the hard-hitting Russian star had dropped all four head-to-head meetings with Clijsters, who arrived at the Acura Classic with a 24-match winning streak in summer hardcourt tournaments.
When the 2006 Acura Classic was over, Sharapova was the player holding the champions’ trophy over her head as she defeated the Belgian, 7-5, 7-5 in an action-packed singles final on Stadium Court at the La Costa Resort and Spa before a capacity crowd of 6,500.
It was a great week for Sharapova, who pocketed the winners’ check of $196,900, which pushed her career winnings over the $6 million mark.
As the number two seed, Sharapova received a first-round bye. In her second round match she dispatched unseeded fellow Russian, Vasilisa Bardina, 6-4, 6-1. In the third round, Sharapova faced another fellow Russian, Vera Zvonareva who was unseeded, but scored a solid 6-4, 6-4 victory.
Fifth-seeded Patty Schnyder of Switzerland, the queen of spins and slices, awaited Sharapova in the semifinals. The Russian was tested, but ultimately prevailed as she eliminated Schnyder, 7-5, 6-4, to advance to the finals against Clijsters.
“I knew I had to be physically and mentally ready or I was going down,” said Sharapova, following her victory over Clijsters. “There’s not a lot to like about my game, I played five pretty solid players and came out with two-set wins in each, it give me confidence. I feel I’m match tough again.”
One month later, Sharapova would go on to win her first US Open title in New York.
Black and Stubbs Capture Doubles Title
Second-seeded Cara Black of Zimbabwe and Australia’s Rennae Stubbs won their second career Acura Classic doubles title as a team as the defeated Germany’s Anna-Lena Groenefeld and American Meghann Shaughnessy, 6-2, 6-2 in the doubles final.
Black and Stubbs dominated the match as they fended off all three break points against their serve in the straight-set victory.
“I think the keys to our win today were that we came out totally ready to play,” said Stubbs following the win. “We played aggressively from the start and got on top early. We played as solid as we did all week. We served well and put ourselves in the right position to win the points.”
Black and Stubbs did not drop a set at the Acura Classic in winning their first doubles title of the year. One of the highlights on their way to winning the Acura Classic title was an incredible 6-1, 6-2 quarterfinal victory over the eight-time Grand Slam doubles champions Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain and Argentina’s Paola Suarez.
Tournament Notes
- Playing in her 12th consecutive Acura Classic, Japan’s Ai Sugiyama was awarded the 2006 Acura Classic Loyalty Award during the tournament.
- During the week, Martina Hingis, a former two-time Acura Classic champion, received the Corina Morariu Comeback Award.
- Acura Classic fans got to see a star of the future at the 2006 Acura Classic as teenager Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic reached the semifinals before losing to Kim Clijsters, 6-2, 7-6 (0). With the ranking points she earned from her semifinal appearance, Vaidisova improved her ranking from No. 12 to No. 9, making her the 12th youngest player to break into the Top 10 of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour rankings.
- Match of the Tournament: In one of the most thrilling matches of the 2006 Acura Classic, defending champion Mary Pierce defeated rising Austrian star Sybille Bammer, 6-1, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (4) in a second-round match which took two-hours and 34 minutes. After winning the first set in 26 minutes, Pierce fell behind 5-2 in the second set, but rallied to send the set to a tiebreaker. Bammer fought off three match points and won the tiebreaker to even the match at one-set all. Pierce fell behind 5-3 in the deciding set but once again came back to send the third and final set to another tiebreaker. With the fans cheering her on, Pierce did not disappoint them and won the match when Bammer netted a backhand.
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