, Luxembourg, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- Kim Clijsters of Belgium lived up to her top-seeded position Sunday, sweeping past No. 2 Magdalena Maleeva to capture the $225,000 Seat Open.
Clijsters crushed Maleeva, 6-1, 6-2, in less
than an hour to retain her title and win in Luxembourg 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, who earned $35,000 for her third tournament victory of the year. 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 '99, 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 on the way 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 that Clijsters successfully defended a title. Last year, she won her second straight Leipzig championship.
Maleeva, a native of Bulgaria, came short of her second title this season, following a triumph three weeks ago in Moscow. She also was a runnerup in Luxenbourg 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."
