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."