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Clijsters cruises by Pierce to win US Open
(AP)
Updated: 2005-09-11 11:30

Winning a Grand Slam title wasn't so hard for Kim Clijsters, after all. Clijsters, who came up short her first four tries, finally won her first major title Saturday night, cruising to a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Mary Pierce at the U.S. Open, AP reported.

When she hit a service winner on the second championship point, Clijsters dropped her racket and covered her mouth with her hands.

Kim Clijsters of Belgium kisses the women's U.S. Open trophy at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in Flushing Meadows, New York, September 10, 2005. Clijsters defeated Mary Pierce of France 6-3 6-1. [Reuters]

"It's still very hard to believe," said Clijsters, who won $2.2 million, double the top prize and the richest payday in women's sports, because she won the U.S. Open Series leading up to the tournament. "It's an amazing feeling to have, especially after being out for so long last year. It means so much more."

She hugged Pierce at the net and then rushed to the side of the court, climbing over a photographer's pit and through the stands at Arthur Ashe Stadium to reach her family. She scaled a wall and inched along a rail as if it were a tightrope — maybe her toughest task of the night — before she reached her family.

Crying, she hugged her mom and sister while Pierce watched, disconsolate, from the sidelines.

"I didn't want to be standing out there by myself after the game. As soon as I looked over to them, I wanted to hug them," Clijsters said. "I decided to run up there. I didn't know where I was going or what I was doing. Luckily, I made it back safe."

Mary Pierce of France looks at her trophy following her loss to Kim Clijsters of Belgium in the women's final at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in Flushing Meadows, New York, September 10, 2005. Clijsters defeated Pierce 6-3 6-1. [Reuters]

It was the second straight shellacking Pierce has taken in a Grand Slam final. Justine Henin-Hardenne needed only 61 minutes to wallop her 6-1, 6-1 at the French Open, prompting a tearful Pierce to apologize to the fans of her home country.

She stretched this final a few minutes longer — but she needed a bathroom break after the first set to do it.

"Before this match, I felt really good," said Pierce, a two-time Grand Slam winner who has resurrected her career at 30. "I was ready for it. I was looking forward to it. I wanted it. But today was definitely not my day."

It was the 10th straight year the championship was won in straight sets, and was the most lopsided final since Martina Hingis beat Venus Williams 6-0, 6-4 in 1997.

The victory splits the Grand Slam titles between Belgians and the Williams family. Henin-Hardenne won the French, Serena Williams took the Australian Open and Venus Williams was the Wimbledon champion.

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