Kim Clijsters clinched her third Bank of the West Classic title by beating Venus Williams on Sunday.

The second-seeded Williams could not pull off another escape act and succumbed to the fourth-seeded Belgian, 7-5 6-2.

Also aiming for her third title at the US$585,000 hardcourt event, Williams had saved a match point in her victory over Lindsay Davenport in the Wimbledon final on July 2 and five match points in Saturday's 2-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 semi-final victory over third-seeded Patty Schnyder of Switzerland.

But there was no magic this time as Clijsters never allowed Williams to gain any type of control. Clijsters claimed her fourth title of the year and third on hard courts, having won at Indian Wells and Miami in the spring.

Williams slipped to 6-3 all-time against Clijsters. She had won their previous three meetings, including a 6-2 6-3 rout in Antwerp earlier this year.

Both players once held the top ranking in women's tennis before being side-tracked by injuries, and both have had lots of success here.

Clijsters improved to 15-2 in this event, beating Davenport in 2001 and Jennifer Capriati in 2003 around a loss in the final to Williams.

The American fell to 24-8 all-time here, winning in 2000 and 2002 and losing to Davenport in the final in 1998, 1999 and 2004.

Williams broke Clijsters for a 5-4 lead and was two points from taking the first set at 30-15 when she committed three straight backhand errors to lose serve.

"I hit a wall several times today," Williams said. `"I had some lapses. I was trying to challenge myself, I just didn't have it."

After holding serve in the 11th game, Clijsters broke Williams again to take the opening set.

"It was very important to win the first set against a player of her calibre," Clijsters said.

"You try to play aggressive and don't give her a chance to come back."

Clijsters broke Williams twice in the second set, including in the final game of the match, as she improved to 38-5 this year.

"I did a lot of things right today. It was the tennis and not so much important as to who I had just beat," said Clijsters, who earned US$93,000.

"You always think about your shots but try not to overplay it.

"I wanted to keep her on the run and be a little more patient."