Kim Clijsters Flies Past Vera Zvonareva to Defend US Open Title

Filed under: U.S. Open, WTADefending champion Kim Clijsters defeated an overwhelmed Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 6-1 to win the U.S. Open women's singles title on Saturday night in just one hour of elapsed time.

Clijsters was dominant from start to finish, while Zvonareva -- a surprise entrant in the final after upsetting top seed Caroline Wozniacki on Friday in straight sets -- did not look like a player with a decade of experience on the tour. A runnerup also at this year's Wimbledon -- where she defeated Clijsters -- the Moscow native committed 24 unforced errors and double-faulted four times. Worse, on one of the sport's biggest stage, Zvonareva showed immaturity by slamming the asphalt (and her body) with her tennis racquet in anger. The 26-year-old Zvonareva received a warning from the chair umpire.

"She told me before the (trophy) ceremony that she was frustrated with the way she played," Clijsters said of Zvonareva. "I totally understood because I lost six finals before I won my first major and it was difficult because I did not play my best tennis. Vera is going to win one of these, as long as she hangs in."

The U.S. Open women's final has been decided in straight sets for 15 straight years.

"I'm trying to look forward," Zvonareva said in her post-match press conference. "I'm trying to think about what I have to do to play better. Hopefully, I will go far in another Grand Slam. Kim didn't give me chances to get into the match. She was just a much better player than me today."

With the victory, Clijsters won her third consecutive U.S. Open women's title -- dating back to 2005. Clijsters won the Open in that year and missed the 2006 tournament with an injury before retiring and giving birth to a daughter, Jada Ellie Lynch, with her husband, former Villanova and European basketball player Brian Lynch. She returned for last year's tournament and stunned the tennis world by winning the title with only a month of competition as preparation.

The champion's win over Zvonereva on Saturday was her 21st consecutive victory at the U.S. Open -- seven each year to win her three titles. The last woman to win the Open in consecutive years was Venus Williams, who won in 2000 and 2001.

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