'Champions take chances, and pressure is a privilege,' Billy Jean King, winner of 39 singles and doubles Grand Slam titles, had written in a text message that Sharapova saw when she woke up.

'I took mine,' the fifth-ranked Russian said, after beating Ana Ivanovic 7-5, 6-3 for her third Grand Slam title.

Sharapova, who did not lose a set in seven matches, was clearly determined that nothing would stop her after winning only three games against Serena Williams in last year's final.

She was over a shoulder problem that plagued her last year. She was hitting winners with regularity.

Her focus never wavered, even when her usually dependable serve let her down briefly.

She was not as sharp as when she ended top-ranked Justine Henin's 32-match winning streak in the quarter-finals or beat No3 Jelena Jankovic in the semi-finals.

But there was no doubt the two-time Grand Slam champion deserved to win.

'I did the things I needed to do in order to win the match,' Sharapova said, making it sound a lot more simple than it was.

Ivanovic, who at 20 is the same age as Sharapova and will rise to No 2 when the new rankings come out tomorrow, was left to find a silver lining.

'I'm still young and I still think I have a lot of Grand Slam finals in front of me,' she said. 'It hurts a bit now, but I'm sure I can learn from it.'

On a hot day, both players showed some nerves but Sharapova was simply more consistent.

She had only two more winners than Ivanovic, but less than half as many as the Serb's 33 unforced errors.

'I knew I had to be aggressive, and that type of game will obviously cause more mistakes,' Ivanovic said.

Serving at 2-2 in the first set, she set up double break point with a double fault, then sent a forehand long.

After holding serve the first three times at love, Sharapova committed three double faults while serving at 4-3 to hand the game to Ivanovic.

She shrugged off the setback, running off the last three games, rallying from 0-30 as she served for the set.

'I didn't get impatient,' she said. 'She's two points away from winning the first set in a Grand Slam final. If you want it, take it. And she didn't.'

From 3-3 in the second set, she ran off the last three games again, breaking Ivanovic for the fourth time to finish the match.

Sharapova dropped to her knees and appeared to be fighting back tears as she waved and blew kisses to the crowd.

She shook hands and exchanged high fives with her father and supporters.

She wished her mother, Yelena, a happy birthday and told her how she planned to spend some of her US$1.2million (S$1.7 million) in prize money.

'With this big, fat cheque, I'm going to send you a bunch of roses,' she said. 'Last year, I lost on her birthday and this year, I said I'm going to make it up to her, and I did.'

The Russian star said when her coach and hitting partner Michael Joyce's mother died last May at age 59 after a six-year battle with ovarian cancer, it helped her put things in perspective and cope with her troubles.

Every time she went out to play or practise, 'Jane was the name we were thinking about,' Sharapova said.

'I want to dedicate this win to her because after the loss Joyce suffered, I got a whole lot of perspective with my injuries and setbacks.

'It helped me prioritise so many things that were outside of tennis.'

AP, Reuters