Wozniacki Goes One Better

© Getty ImagesCaroline Wozniacki celebrates after match point.

After a runner-up finish last year at the BNP Paribas Open, World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki claimed the title Sunday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 win over France's Marion Bartoli.

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“It's pretty much a two-week event, and you have days in between like in the Grand Slams. It's a big tournament, and I'm very, very happy,” said Wozniacki. “Once again, I showed that I can play great tennis, and I've beaten some really good players this week.”

The 20-year-old Dane had impressed in her semi-final match against past champion Maria Sharapova two nights earlier, and carried that form into her second straight Indian Wells final, conceding just three points on serve to race through the opening set.

Bartoli put up a fight, breaking Wozniacki twice in the second set to extend the match, but the top seed came back strong in the third as she opened up a double-break lead to go up 4-1. Though Bartoli recovered one break of serve to narrow the lead to 4-3, Wozniacki won the final three games, clinching the title on her second match point when Bartoli’s return sailed long.

“I played very, very well, I thought, actually in the whole match, but first set I felt like I had the most control,” said Wozniacki. “I had her running; I had her moving. Second set, she just went for her shots. She started to hit even harder.  I didn't feel I played badly. I thought actually I played pretty good, but she was very steady, keeping the pressure. In the third set, I just kept my head cool.  We had a lot of long rallies, but I came up with the wins, so it was nice.”

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Wozniacki, who has improved on each of her five visits to Indian Wells, is the eighth different women’s champion here in the last eight years and the 16th overall in tournament history.

She has now won 14 tour-level titles, placing her fifth among active players on the WTA Tour. Wozniacki also won the Dubai title last month.

Bartoli was contesting her first final since 2009, when she won her biggest career title at the Premier-level event in Stanford. She had ousted two past champions, Kim Clijsters and Ana Ivanovic, this past fortnight.

“After the first set I really start to play a lot better,” said Bartoli. “Honestly, I think it was one of the best match I ever played from the second set on towards the end. We had some really nice shots from both of us. I think it was a great match to watch from the crowd, and I really enjoyed playing it, even though I come up a bit short at the end. 

“You can always say you could have done better, but I think I pretty much gave everything on the court. Sometimes you come up a bit short.  But if I keep working like that, I'm sure I'm going to improve and be even a better player.”