Sharapova crushes Dementieva in Indian Wells final

INDIAN WELLS, Mar 19 (Reuters) Third seed Maria Sharapova crushed number four Elena Dementieva 6-1 6-2 to win her first Pacific Life Open.

''It feels really great,'' said Sharapova yesterday, who claimed her first tournament win since Birmingham last June.

''I've worked really hard the past few months to get past my injury and to really believe in myself. It's moments like these where the hard work comes into your mind.'' After playing for nearly three hours to upset top seed Justine Henin-Hardenne in the semi-finals on Friday, Dementieva couldn't find the energy to run with Sharapova, committing 37 unforced errors to 25.

Despite the windy conditions, former Wimbledon champion Sharapova did take big rips at the ball when given the right opportunities, cracking 17 winners to only eight from Dementieva.

While in the men's event, top seed Roger Federer took apart Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan 6-2 6-3 to move into the final and will face the winner of the semi-final between number two Rafael Nadal of Spain and number 12 James Blake of the US.

REUTERS VJ RAI0722