HONG KONG — Venus Williams beat Russia's Maria Sharapova in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 Saturday to win the JB Group Classic exhibition in Hong Kong — a warmup for the Australian Open.

Both players were holding serve comfortably in the early games, but the Russian faltered first. Serving at 4-5 in the first set, Sharapova sent a backhand into the net after a long rally and then missed another backhand to give the American a one-set lead.

Sharapova, who has won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, was erratic in the second set.

Down 3-2, she double-faulted and missed a forehand to give the reigning Wimbledon champ the crucial break.

Sharapova did save two match points in her final service game, but Williams held to love to take the match, closing out the game with a forehand winner.

Williams, a six-time Grand Slam winner, complained Friday of an unspecified injury but appeared unaffected Saturday.

She said the nature of the injury still wasn't clear but she felt better after treatment. Williams also said she fell on her left wrist while practicing in Hong Kong but that the wrist felt 100 percent Saturday.

"I just had the opportunity to get my racket on the ball and play it deep. I guess I served well. I returned OK. So I guess it was about doing everything good," she said.

Sharapova said she took some chances because she was playing against an opponent that was playing well.

"When your opponent is serving big and serving consistently, you've really got to take your chances on opportunities, on second serves, which I did a poor job of," she said.

ASB Classic

In Auckland, New Zealand, Lindsay Davenport won her third title in four events since returning to play following the birth of her first child, beating France's Aravane Rezai 6-2, 6-2 on Saturday.

The former top-ranked Davenport improved to 18-1 in singles since her return to the tour. She gave birth in June to son Jagger.

Jagger Jonathan Leach was courtside Saturday for his mother's victory, attended by his nanny, but seemed nonplussed by the occasion and cried volubly when first introduced to the crowd. He was quickly calmed by Davenport and took an eager interest in proceedings, including the presentation of the $22,000 winner's check.

The win followed Davenport's tournament victories in Bali — achieved after a 51-week absence from the tour — and Quebec City and her semifinals appearance in Beijing. With her 54th singles title, she broke with Monica Seles for eighth on the career list.

"I came here with the goal of winning this tournament and, being unseeded, you never know how the draw turns out," Davenport said. "But I was happy with the way I was able to play well at times, not perfectly at others, but really come through the tournament and just lose the one set."

Davenport is surprised her comeback has been so successful.

"I started off playing a few of the smaller tournaments, Tier 3s and 4s, and it's astonished me," she said. "I didn't think my body would bounce back as fast as it has after giving birth, and the strain of pregnancy."

Chennai Open

In Chennai, India, Rafael Nadal was extended to three tiebreakers and outlasted Carlos Moya on Saturday, setting up a final with Mikhail Youzhny.

Nadal, ranked No. 2, won 6-7 (3), 7-6 (8), 7-6 (1). Youzhny, a Russian seeded fourth, defeated Croat teenager Marin Cilic 6-2, 6-3 in the other semifinal.

The top-seeded Nadal saved four match points in the second-set tiebreaker. He was in command in the final tiebreaker against Moya, a two-time champion who was seeded third.

"Carlos had more winning chances than me, the match was close all the time," Nadal said. "This was my most emotional match against Carlos, who's my best fried on the tour. It's not the sort of contest you play often."

Nadal leads 5-2 in matches against fellow Spaniard Moya, who at 31 is the oldest player among the top 20.

"I had many winning chances and felt I was going to win this semifinal," said Moya, who won the titles in 2004 and 2005. "If you don't seize you chances against Nadal, he'll bounce back strongly."

The 19th-ranked Youzhny ended the 71st-ranked Cilic's aspirations of advancing to his first final in an ATP Tour event by winning four service breaks to clinch the match in 83 minutes.

Australian men's hardcourt championships

In Adelaide, Australia, third-seeded Jarkko Nieminen beat France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-2, 6-4 Saturday to advance to the final against Michael Llodra.

Llodra ended the lengthy run of 32-year-old Australian wild card Joe Sirianni with a 6-3, 7-6 (8) win in the other semifinal at Memorial Drive, which is hosting the tournament for the final time before it heads north to Brisbane next year.

Sirianni was on a 12-match winning streak, including victories in two Challenger tournaments and in wild-card events for Adelaide and the Australian Open.

"I don't think I played well today at all and I nearly beat the guy, so I've got to take a positive out of everything, the whole week," Sirianni said.

"I've got two more tournaments coming up, Sydney and the Aussie Open, hopefully I compete and improve my ranking."

Australian women's hardcourt championship

In Gold Coast, Australia, China's Li Na won the championship following a six-month layoff because of a rib injury, beating Victoria Azarenka 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

It was the 25-year-old Li's second WTA Tour title, adding to her 2004 victory in Guangzhou. She last played in Birmingham, England, in June.

Li beat top-seeded Nicole Vaidisova in the quarterfinals and fourth-seeded Patty Schnyder in the semifinals.

Azarenka, from Belarus, needed treatment for a right upper-thigh injury when leading 4-3 in the first set. She called a medical timeout and returned with her leg heavily strapped, but it didn't appear to affect her movement.

Qatar Open

In Doha, Qatar, Andy Murray defeated Stanislas Wawrinka 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 to win his first tournament since splitting with coach Brad Gilbert.

Murray, seeded third, won his fourth ATP title and beat his unseeded Swiss opponent for the first time. It also was his first hard-court title.

"I had never won a tournament in the first week of the season," said Murray, who lost last year's final to Ivan Ljubicic. "It is great going into the Australian Open."

Murray broke with Gilbert in November.

"I worked really hard in the offseason, on my fitness and on my tennis," the Scotsman said. "It's the hardest I've ever worked in my life, so I'm happy it paid off this week."