Kim Clijsters won her third Stanford Classic title with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over an exhausted Venus Williams on Sunday.
Wimbledon champion Williams, playing for the fifth consecutive week, was clearly slower than the fourth-seeded Belgian and littered the court with unforced errors.
For her part, Clijsters played efficiently, stretching out the number two seeded American in long rallies and making sure she did not over play the ball.
"It's always good to come up with such a good tournament victory," said former world number one Clijsters, who secured her third career win against Williams in nine meetings.
"She's a great player and I knew I'd have to play my best to beat her. I stayed patient and did a lot of things right. In the past, I think I tried to do too many things against her and I got out of my normal rhythm.
"I was mixing and defending well," added the Belgian, who on Monday will re-enter the top 10 for the first time since October 24, 2004. "I think I put her off a few times."
After a sloppy first set, Clijsters completely controlled the second and clinched victory when she struck a fierce forehand cross-court return of serve winner.
"I didn't have my legs," said Venus, who was broken six times in the match. "I tried but I didn't have enough energy.
"I tried to challenge myself to move my feet and hit the ball, but came up short on my own challenges. I hit the wall several times. But she played really well."
WINNING STREAK
Clijsters is now on a 24-match winning streak in the United States, not having lost on American soil since she fell to Justine Henin-Hardenne in the 2003 U.S. Open final.
Since coming back from wrist surgery in February, she has won all three U.S. hard courts events contested, including Tier One titles at Indian Wells, Miami, and now at Stanford.
Clijsters now leads the U.S. Open Series and is due to play over the next two weeks in San Diego and Carson, California.
"I feel my level on hardcourts is the best because its suits my game," said the Belgian. "I can move without thinking about whether I should be sliding or worrying about slipping, I can run down balls whenever I like. It's a great feeling to have."
Williams will take next week off before travelling to Stockholm for another tournament.
"It's every challenging to play as much as I've been," Venus said. "Not only physically, but also mentally. I need to be mentally fresh to compete and if I'm not, it's hard to stay in there."
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