Jelena Jankovic warmed up for Wimbledon with an upset victory over Maria Sharapova in the final of the DFS Classic in Birmingham.

The 22-year-old Florida-based Serb lifted her fourth Sony Ericsson WTA tour title of the year after coming from a set down to beat the 2004 Wimbledon champion 4-6 6-3 7-5 and deny her opponent a third Birmingham title in four years.

Sharapova, who let slip a 3-0 lead in the deciding set, will head for Wimbledon next week still looking for her first tour title of the year and with doubts still unresolved over her sore shoulder.

Jankovic's victory, which followed tour wins in Auckland, Charleston and Rome so far this year, gave her revenge for her defeat by Sharapova in the Birmingham final two years ago.

The 20-year-old Russian has called Edgbaston her "home from home" after launching her career there in 2003 and winning the title in 2004 and 2005 but it was Jankovic who looked more comfortable in the first Wimbledon warm-up tournament.

The Serb had been the more impressive player throughout the week and experienced slightly less disruption, with Sharapova playing four matches in the last two days of the rain-hit tournament.

Jankovic also went into the final with the advantage of having finished her delayed semi-final two hours before her opponent.

After a week dogged by the worst weather to hit the West Midlands in memory, the 3,000-strong crowd were rewarded with a high-class final, the highest-profile decider in the tournament's 26-year history, which lasted five minutes short of two hours.

There was little to choose between the players in a tight first set in which both produced their best tennis of the week.

A double fault on break point in the fifth game by Jankovic enabled her opponent to draw first blood but the battling Serb struck straight back.

Sharapova's familiar clenched fist was in evidence by the seventh game, when she broke to lead 4-3 and the trademark screams were quickly climbing the decibel level as she strove for the extra power to accompany her silky skills.

But it was not all about power, as she demonstrated in clinching the first set with an inch-perfect lob that followed a deft drop shot.

The pair exchanged breaks at the start of the second set and Sharapova appeared to lose focus after netting an easy volley that would have given her a 4-2 lead.

She dropped her serve for the fourth time to lose the second set but appeared to step up a gear in the decider, racing into a 3-0 lead.

A careless service game, in which she was broken to love, enabled Jankovic to get the set back on serve and the turning point came when she came from 0-40 down for a crucial hold.

The set then went with serve until Sharapova was broken for a sixth time and Jankovic served out for arguably the best win of her career which condemned her opponent to only a third defeat in 25 matches in Birmingham.

"I'm just so happy," said Jankovic.

"This is my first title on grass. I have won on three different surfaces this year which is great for me.

"It's a good thing for me. It gives me a lot of confidence, especially beating Sharapova on this surface.

"Luckily, I gained revenge my revenge for the last time she beat me so it's a good feeling for sure going into Wimbledon to have a title under your belt.

"As the match went on I finally became the player I am which has given me the results this year."

Sharapova said: "Playing 10 sets in two days is quite a lot. It's something I've not done for a while, since the juniors.

"But I'm not complaining. I came here to play matches and sets and, all in all, I'm pretty happy.

"It was a good performance by both of us. I lost a little edge in the second and third sets and she took advantage.

"There is a very thin line between winning and losing and I think today was a good example of that."

Jankovic had earlier got the final day's action under way at just after 11am with a routine 6-2 7-5 win over Italy's Mara Santangelo in a match that lasted just over an hour, while Sharapova played in the hottest part of the day and took 30 minutes longer to see off French number two Marion Bartoli.

The Russian was also forced to contend with off-court drama, with a spectator air-lifted to hospital after falling in one of the temporary stands.

Sharapova trailed 4-5 as the air ambulance landed on the adjoining practice courts at the Edgbaston Priory Club but went on to reel off nine straight games to clinch a 7-5 6-0 win.

Bartoli had a ready-made excuse for her collapse but insisted the short turnaround from her unfinished quarter-final with Daniela Hantuchova had left her drained of energy.

She revealed that she had once been airlifted to hospital from school and attended many car accidents with her doctor father.

"I am used to it," she revealed. "My dad is a doctor and I used to go with him to emergencies. I have seen a lot of accidents in my life so it was not a problem for me.

"The problem was the short time between each match. To serve for the match against Maria, who is one of the best players on grass, was amazing.

"I got tired and she went on to control the match. It is better for Maria to play the final. She is in better shape than me."