The 57-week reign of Serena Williams at the top of the world rankings ended
tonight when Belgium's Kim Clijsters became the new women's number one.
Clijsters become the top-ranked player after beating Lindsay Davenport in a
dramatic final of the JP Morgan Chase Open in Los Angeles.
The first set was a stroll for Clijsters, but then Davenport made her opponent
world hard and after levelling the match at one set apiece, she threatened to
spoil the occasion for her young rival.
It developed into a pulsating match and Clijsters was pushed to her very
limits by the formerly top-ranked Davenport.
But Davenport lost her way after the players took a heat break before the
deciding third set and Clijsters upped her game once more to clinch a 6-1 3-6
6-1 victory which took her above injured Serena in the WTA Tour's rankings.
She is the first woman to be top-ranked without having won a grand slam title,
since the WTA introduced its computer ranking in November 1975.
``I don't really know how I feel at the moment,'' Clijsters said after winning
her sixth title of the year.
``I'm a bit confused.
``It's great to have my first number one ranking here and to share it with all
these people is great.
``It's always something that seems so far away, and something you work for. It
makes you more motivated and makes you train harder.''
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