Unseeded Australian Alicia Molik completed an
impressive run to win her first Tier I title on Sunday at the expense of
Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova.
Molik defeated fourth-seeded Sharapova of Russia, 4-6 6-2 6-3, to win the Swisscom Challenge on Sunday.
Making Sharapova her fourth consecutive seeded victim, Molik won her second
title of the season.
The 23-year-old won a Tier IV event in Stockholm in early August.
Molik also knocked off sixth-seeded Vera Zvonareva, No. 8 Elena Petrova and
10th-seeded local favorite Patty Schnyder en route to her third career title.
The 17-year-old Sharapova, who had dropped just two sets in winning her
previous 12 matches, was in search of her third consecutive title.
The reigning Wimbledon champion had won a Tier III tournament in Japan two
weeks ago and a Tier IV event in Korea the previous week.