Top Seed Maria Sharapova Cruises into 2007 Acura Classic Final

Top seed Maria Sharapova booked herself a spot in her second straight Acura Classic final with a solid 6-3, 6-2 win over third seed Anna Chakvetadze on Saturday.

Chakvetadze, who was going for her fiftieth win this season today, ran out of steam against the defending champion after last night’s thriller against Venus Williams. Her serve, which was only average against Williams, crumbled early on and allowed Sharapova to wrap up the victory in two sets.

The fatigue from playing singles (and often doubles) for the past three weeks caught up with the third seed today and her streak of straight wins was snapped at twelve matches.

Fortunately for Chakvetadze, the next thing on her calendar is a few days of working with legendary coach Robert Lansdorp, who helped hone the game of some of the biggest servers on Tour including Lindsay Davenport and Sharapova.

In all fairness, Chakvetadze was not the only one having trouble serving. Maria Sharapova may be over her shoulder injury, but her serve is not completely back. She served six double faults, including two when she tried to serve for the match at 5-1 in the second set.

Sharapova’s victory gives her a berth in the final where she will face Patty Schnyder on Sunday. Although Sharapova has reached two previous finals this season, she remains the only player in the top ten, except Svetlana Kuznetsova, who has yet to win a title in 2007.