Former world No.1 Kim Clijsters took less than an hour to beat Venus Williams 6-2 6-1 and claim her 37th career title and her second one at the Sony Erisson Open in Miami.
Clijsters faced no break points throughout the final. In addition, she won 17 points in a row in the second set, while Williams won only eight points throughout the set.
The third-seeded Williams was one victory away from winning her fourth title at the Sony Erisson Open and also her third straight title, but the 14th-seeded Belgian ended the 15-match winning streak of the American seven-time Grand Slam champion. The two are now leveled at 6-6 in career meetings, with Clijsters winning both their encounters since returning to the Tour.
Clijsters defeated the following players on her way to the $700,000 prize in Miami: Petra Kvitova, Shahar Peer, last year’s champion Victoria Azarenka, Samantha Stosur, Justine Henin and finally Venus Williams.
The 26-year-old Clijsters is expected to climb to spot No.10 in the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour rankings next week, which will be her highest ranking since coming back to professional tennis.
