The top seed was given a tough fight early on by Sharapova before racing to her third career title.

"It's always exciting to be in the final, you can show your best tennis to everyone," Australian Open semifinalist Li said.

"There's nothing better than winning a final. Today I hit the ball flatter and it makes it easier to win points on grass."

Three-times grand slam champion Sharapova, trying to climb back into the world's top 10 after her career was stalled by a serious shoulder injury, lost to Li in last year's semi-finals.

Although she again found the Chinese blocking her attempt to win a third Edgbaston title, the Russian was far from downhearted as she switched her focus to Wimbledon.

"The goal was to get as many matches as I could and I did that and I've played opponents with different types of game," Sharapova said. "It's always nice to win a tournament but it doesn't always happen.

"I would have loved to win but she was the better player today and she did many things better than me. She returned great. I put her under no pressure whatsoever on her serve."

Sharapova said she could not wait to get to Wimbledon's practice courts next week.

"The week before Wimbledon is always great as there's no one around and you can walk around and take it all in," the 2004 champion said. "You can really sense the feeling of the tournament."