27/11/09 02:48 GMT
  £30 Free Bet Bet Now Latest Odds ATP World Tour Competitions Sky Games Video
 
 WTA TOUR 2002
Picture Clijsters - completed hat-trick of wins. (Allsport)

CLIJSTERS COMPLETES HAT-TRICK

Kim Clijsters of Belgium lived up to her top-seeded position at the Seat Open on Sunday by sweeping past second-ranked Magdalena Maleeva in the final.

Clijsters crushed the 27-year-old Bulgarian 6-1 6-2 in less than an hour to retain her title and win here for the third time in the last four years.

"I don't know why, but winning here this year seems even more special than winning the first two," said Clijsters.

She also won at Hamburg in May and Filderstadt two weeks ago.

Luxembourg was the event where Clijsters won her first Tour title as a 16-year-old qualifier in 1999.

"I've said before that I love coming to Luxembourg so much," she said.

"I have special memories having won my very first title here in 1999, and each year it's always nice to come back and see familiar faces and good friends."

The 19-year-old Belgian lost just 14 games in four matches.

It is the fewest number of games en route to winning a title this year, less than the 20 games conceded by Venus Williams at New Haven in August.

The triumph marked the second time in her career Clijsters successfully defended a title.

Last year, she won her second straight Leipzig championship.

Maleeva came short of her second title this season, following a triumph three weeks ago in Moscow.

She also was a runner-up at this tournament in 2000 when she fell to Jennifer Capriati.

"There was not a lot I could do out there today," Maleeva said. "Kim was doing everything very well and my timing was a little off.

"She gave me very few chances. Winning in Moscow, beating Venus, (Amelie) Mauresmo and (Lindsay) Davenport, was a great boost of confidence for me."

E-mail this article E-mail Article Print this article Print-Friendly Subscribe to sportinglife RSS feed Subscribe to RSS Feed
Digg this story post this story to del.icio.us - social bookmarking site Post to del.icio.us Facebook

Click here to send us your sporting feedback

  Latest Tennis Stories
 For Murray it was a taste of the other side of the coin after he ended Federer's
 DEL POTRO WIN ENDS MURRAY CHALLENGE
 DEL POTRO WIN ENDS MURRAY CHALLENGE
 DEL POTRO WIN ENDS MURRAY CHALLENGE
 DEL POTRO DUMPS OUT MURRAY
 DAVYDENKO SENDS NADAL OUT
 SODERLING SPRINGS SECOND SURPRISE
 CHANG BRUSHES OFF AGASSI COMMENTS
 MURRAY AIMS TO IMPROVE SERVE
 FED MAULS THE MURRAY SERVE

----------------------------------------------------------------
Part of 365 Media Group

Sports News & Entertainment
Sporting Life | TEAMtalk | Sportal | Football365 | Cricket365
Golf365 | Fixtures365 | Extreme365 | Planet F1 | Planet Rugby | Sky Sports | Football365 ZA

Betting & Gaming
Betting Zone | WSOP |Sky Bet | Poker | Online Casino | Online Bingo | Oddschecker | Casino Checker | Poker Checker | Bingo Checker | Free Bets

Mobile, Fun & Games
Free Online Games | 24-7 Football | Fantasy Football | Fantasy F1
----------------------------------------------------------------

© 2009 365 Media Group Ltd, All Rights Reserved.
Email Your Comments - Advertise With Us - About/Contact Us
Terms & Conditions - Privacy Policy - RSS


WTA Archive
1999 Tour
2000 Tour
2001 Tour
2002 Tour
2003 Tour
2004 Tour
2005 Tour
2006 Tour
2007 Tour
2008 Tour
ATP Archive
1999 Tour
2000 Tour
2001 Tour
2002 Tour
2003 Tour
2004 Tour
2005 Tour
2006 Tour
2007 Tour
2008 Tour