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Clijsters wins in front of home fans
(AP)
Updated: 2005-10-31 10:04
HASSELT, Belgium - Kim Clijsters won before a home crowd for her ninth title
this year, defeating Italy's Francesca Schiavone 6-2, 6-3 Sunday in the Gaz de
France Stars final.
Belgium's Kim
Clijsters smiles as she beats Italy's Francesca Schiavone during their WTA
Gaz De France Stars tennis tournament final in Hasselt, Belgium, Sunday
Oct. 30, 2005. [AP] | Belgium's Kim Clijsters
smiles as she beats Italy's Francesca Schiavone during their WTA Gaz De France
Stars tennis tournament final in Hasselt, Belgium, Sunday Oct. 30, 2005. The
top-seeded Clijsters, who missed much of last season because of a wrist injury,
did not lose a set all week. In beating her third-seeded opponent, she won her
30th career title.
Clijsters, the U.S. Open champion, lost her opening serve but recovered
quickly and was never troubled again.
"She is a great athlete and a great champion," said Schiavone, who reached
her third final of the year and is expected to reach a career-high No. 14
ranking Monday. She is the only top 20 player yet to win a WTA tournament.
Clijsters, ranked No. 2 behind Lindsay Davenport, will be among the favorites
at the WTA Tour Championship, which begins in Los Angeles next week. Clijsters
won the season-ending event in 2002 and '03.
"I'm very happy with my week overall — played some solid matches and put
myself in a good position to go to L.A.," she said. "It's really nice here to be
able to stay at home and do all the normal things, have my friends around and
all that."
Clijsters was ranked 134th in March when she was struggling to recover from
wrist surgery the year before. This season she has won nine of 16 tournaments,
most among WTA players this year. The Belgian said the long layoff, which forced
her to rest her powerful double-fisted backhand, gave her time to fine-tune the
rest of her game.
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