Clijsters shatters Venus in Miami duel

MIAMI – US Open champion Kim Clijsters steamrolled Venus Williams, 6-2, 6-1, on Saturday to win her second Miami hardcourt WTA title.

“I felt from the beginning I was ready to go and really seeing the ball well,” said Clijsters, who claimed her third title since starting a comeback last year after more than two seasons away from the WTA.

Clijsters, the 14th seed, also won here in 2005 – two years before she retired.

Now the Belgian, who married and had a baby during her break from the tour, will climb to number 10 in the world rankings next week, the highest ranking for the former number one since her return.

Her young daughter, Jada, was watching from the stands as the 26-year-old wrapped up the victory in just 58 minutes, lifting her arms in triumph when Williams sailed a forehand long on the first of three-match points.

Top-ranked Serena Williams sat in the photographers’ pit and cheered her sister, but Venus couldn’t get her game on track.

While Serena has been sidelined with a left knee injury since her Australian Open victory, Venus had been the hottest player on the WTA tour with 15 consecutive match wins as well as titles in Dubai and Acapulco last month.

But the third-seeded American, who won the prestigious Miami title in 1998, 1999 and 2001, finished with a total of 29 unforced errors and won only nine points in the second set as her usually dominant first serve let her down.

“It wasn’t my best day,” said Williams, who had never lost a Miami final before.

“She played extremely solid, but it’s not like I was blown off the court. Unfortunately I was my own worst enemy.” (AP)