Clijsters wins U.S. Open, drops in ranking

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Sept. 14 (UPI) -- Kim Clijsters successfully defended her U.S. Open title but still dropped two places to fifth in the latest world women's tennis rankings.

Improved results at the Open this year over 2009 by Venus Williams, who lost to Clijsters in the semifinals in New York, and Vera Zvonareva, who lost to Clijsters in the finals, allowed Williams and Zvonareva to jump past Clijsters in the rankings.

Williams and Zvonareva were fourth-round losers in the 2009 Open -- Williams dropping a three-set match to Clijsters.

Serena Williams, still out with a foot injury, is No. 1 for a 120th week. Caroline Wozniacki is second but only 114 ratings points ahead of third-ranked Venus Williams. Zvonareva, who had been eighth before the Open, and Clijsters, third two weeks ago, complete the first five.

Jelena Jankovic slipped from fifth to sixth and French Open finalists Samantha Stosur and Francesca Schiavone each also fell one spot to seventh and eighth, respectively.

Agnieszka Radwanska improved one spot to No. 9 and Elena Dementieva climbed from 12th to 10th.