Maria Sharapova defeated Kristina Barrois 7-5, 6-1 in the in the Strasbourg International final, after a two-month layoff with a right elbow injury, to win her 22nd career title.

"Kristina changed it up a lot. Her backhand was more old school, with 90% of the shots low, so I really had to bend my knees," Sharapova said afterwards. "I had one sloppy game where I made a few unforced errors and that gave her the chance to go a break up. When she was serving for the set at 4-5 I managed to hang in there, and after that I felt my level went up a little bit. In the end, it was just a combination of doing a few things better than she was."

"If you asked me before the tournament if I'd come back again, I would've said I'd have to win this year. I guess that's a sign I need to come back," Sharapova added. "I had a great week. Obviously you don't know how things turn out but I hope to come back. I'm looking forward to Roland Garros. It's obviously the most challenging of the Grand Slams for me, but I've done well there before."


Barrois was playing in her first WTA Tour final. Before this week, her best career runs were two quarterfinals - including here last year.

"It was a good tournament, no matter what happened today," Barrois said. "I had my chances in the first set but couldn't win it, and then she put so much pressure on me. It's good to have so many matches on clay just before the French. Hopefully I play the same there like I did here."

In the doubles final, Vania King and Alizé Cornet beat Alla Kudryavtseva and Anastasia Rodionova 3-6, 6-4, 10-7. King and Cornet were playing together for the first time. It was 10th career doubles title for King and second for Cornet.

Alexandra Dulgheru has successfully defended her Warsaw Open title, beating Zheng Jie of China 6-3, 6-4 in the final.

"I felt good from the beginning, but Zheng is a very good player and I had to focus on every point," Dulgheru said. "It's a special feeling to win here. Besides the tactics and strategies, the nice feelings I get here also helped me win today.

"I'll have more confidence going into the French Open, but I'm a bit tired now! It's important for me to rest and recover in the next few days and get ready."

Zheng was seeking her fourth career singles title on the Tour and was trying to become the first Chinese ever to win a Premier-level title.

"She changed the rhythm to make it difficult for me. I had my chances in the second set, but I didn't take them," Zheng said. "I feel very good about this tournament. I was in the doubles final last year and the singles final this year. Now I'm just looking forward to my first round match at Roland Garros."

In the doubles final, Virginia Ruano Pascual and Meghann Shaughnessy beat Cara Black and Yan Zi, 63 64. This was 43rd career doubles title for Ruano Pascual and 16th for Shaughnessy.

"I'm so happy to win. I'd like to come back to Warsaw next year," said Ruano Pascual."I think we won today because we played so well together as a team."

WTA Weekend Winners: Maria Sharapova and Alexandra Dulgheru