LOS ANGELES, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- Kim Clijsters routed Amelie Mauresmo, 6-2, 6-0, in 52 minutes Monday night to successfully defend her crown at the season-ending WTA Tour Championships.
"I think from the start until the end I was very focused," said Clijsters, the top seed. "I played my best tennis here so far. I was seeing the ball as big as a football and was able to do whatever I wanted with the ball. That's a nice feeling to have."
Clijsters won a tough three-setter on Wednesday over Mauresmo in the early part of the new round-robin format and improved to 7-2 lifetime against he French foe.
Despite winning the title, fellow Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne finished the season with world No. 1 ranking. Clijsters won her tour-leading ninth title of the year and collected the $1,000,030 first prize, the largest paycheck won by a woman at a sporting event, to become the first on the WTA Tour to earn over $4 million in a single season.
