ANTWERP, Belgium -- Venus Williams won her first title of the season, and a pattern is becoming clear: Just about the only person who can beat her is her sister.
She defeated Kim Clijsters, 6-2, 6-4, on Sunday to win the Diamond Games for the second straight year, completing the tournament without losing a set.
Williams is ranked second in the world and her overpowering serve and nearly flawless backcourt game were too much for the third-ranked Clijsters. Williams' serves reached nearly 118 mph; Clijsters' serves hit 93 mph.
"I put a lot of pressure with my serve," Williams said. "I was always able to force the point."Since July 2001, Williams has lost only 10 times. Five of those losses were to sister Serena, including defeats in the final of the last four Grand Slams. Clijsters inflicted two losses during the stretch, but Williams showed she was clearly the better player yesterday, even with the Belgian playing before a home crowd.
"She was simply far too strong on the important points," Clijsters said. "Her first serves made a lot of difference."
If Williams wins the Diamond Games in any of the next three years, she can claim the diamond-encrusted trophy racket worth $1.07 million, which goes to the first triple champion in any five-year span.
Asked whether she would return to defend her title, Williams said, "I have no choice."Williams welcomed all challenges to her title, even one from her sister.
"If you want to challenge me here, Serena, if you are watching, come on," she said.Venus accepted the trophy studded with 1,702 gems and immediately showed it to her mother, Oracene, in the stands.
"I got a good look at it," Venus said. "It will be in my dreams."
The match was played before a capacity crowd of 14,400, the largest to watch a final at a women's only tournament since the season-ending championships at Madison Square Garden in New York in the late '80s and early '90s.
Clijsters forced a break point in the third game, but a great serve and backcourt scrambling saved Williams. In the fourth game, Clijsters saved two break points before Williams took the set in 29 minutes.
Clijsters took control in the second set, breaking in the first game. Williams countered by exploiting the weak serve of Clijsters with a love game to make it 1-1. From that point, Clijsters' backcourt game deteriorated and Williams charged to a 4-1 lead.
The once-raucous crowd grew increasingly silent, with Williams whipping balls past the Belgian. Clijsters closed within 5-4, but Williams maintained her momentum and won the match after 80 minutes when Clijsters sent a ball wide.
"I did all I could to get back into it," Clijsters said.
Williams withdrew from the Dubai Open, which begins today, citing a scheduling change.
TENNIS
Second-seeded Anastasia Myskina of Russia beat fifth-seeded countrywoman Elena Likhovtseva, 6-3, 6-1, in the Qatar Open for her third career title. The 21-year-old Myskina's other tournament titles came at Bahia (2002) and Palermo (1999).
In Marseille, France, Top-seeded Roger Federer beat Jonas Bjorkman, 6-2, 7-6 (6), in the final of the Open 13 for his fifth career ATP title. Federer breezed through the first set and rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the second to force a tiebreaker. BIATHLON
In Oslo, Norway, Four-time Olympic biathlon champion Ole Einar Bjorndalen won a World Cup event at Holmenkollen for his ninth victory of the season and 36th overall. Bjorndalen covered the 12.5-kilometer pursuit event in 34 minutes, 12.1 seconds and missed one target. Germany's Sven Fischer had two misses and finished second. Martina Glagow won the women's 10-kilometer biathlon pursuit in 31:09.78, with one miss, and moved into second place in the overall standings, 52 points behind overall leader Jekaterina Dafovska, who finished 21st. Olena Zubrilova of Belarus finished second, 3.6 seconds back, after two misses, and Italy's Michela Ponza shot clean and crossed the finish line 4.7 seconds behind the winner. BOBSLED
In Lake Placid, N.Y., Andre Lange drove Germany-2 to the two-man gold medal at the Bobsled World Championships, winning a tense duel with Canada's Pierre Lueders. Trailing Lange by just .02 entering the fourth and final heat, Lueders and brakeman Giulio Zardo equaled the start record of 5.09 seconds on the Mount Van Hoevenberg track and finished the 20-turn, mile-long course in 54.97 seconds. None of the previous 18 sleds had broken the 55-second mark on the final run, and Lange said he was feeling the pressure as he and brakeman Kevin Kuske. CRICKET
Cricket's ruling body plans to decide within two days whether to relocate New Zealand's World Cup match from Kenya to South Africa because of fears about terrorism. New Zealand cricket officials said last month the national team wouldn't play the Feb. 21 group match against Kenya in Nairobi, citing security concerns. RUGBY
Ireland beat Scotland, 36-6, in a Six Nations rugby union opener, its first win in Edinburgh in 18 years. Reserve fly-half David Humphreys scored 26 points, including a second-half try. Denis Hickie and substitute Geordan Murphy got the other tries for Ireland. SKIING
In St. Moritz, Switzerland, A dazed and teary Ivica Kostelic embraced his sister at the finish after putting an unmistakable family stamp on the World Championships. The Croat won the slalom to join sister Janica in setting skiing history and denying Bode Miller of the United States a shot at a third gold medal. Miller finished sixth and completed the two-week event with three medals. This was Ivica Kostelic's first major title and the first time a brother and sister won the same event at a world championship. Janica took the combined last week and the slalom Saturday. Silvan Zurbriggen of Switzerland won the silver and Giorgio Rocca of Italy took the bronze. After Miller, the top Americans were Chip Knight (11th), Tom Rothrock (12th) and Erick Schlopy (15th). Ivica Kostelic dawdled at the finish line, then dropped to his knees.
In Westby, Wis., Germany's Ferdinand Bader won the Snowflake International Ski Jumping Tournament. He was followed by Austrians Bernhard Metzler and Markus Eigentler in the Continental Cup tour event. Bader tied the Snowflake hill record with a jump of 122.5 meters. He totaled 285 points, determined by distance and style. Metzler had 269.5 points and Eigentler earned 266. Less than an hour into jumping Sunday, Jeff Denney of Duluth, Minn., sustained a concussion in a fall. Saturday's jumping was called off because of strong wind. SPEEDSKATING
In Baselga di Pine, Italy, Russian Yevgeny Lalenkov won the 1,500-meter race in a World Cup speedskating event, moving 20 points ahead of American Derek Parra in the overall standings. Lalenkov's second victory of the season raised his point total to 360. Parra, who finished more than a second off the pace, placed fifth. Parra has 340 total points. Germany's Anni Friesinger beat countrywoman Claudia Pechstein in the 3,000-meter race for her second victory in the two-day competition. She won the 1,500 on Saturday. TRACK AND FIELD
Mickey Grimes beat former U.S. teammate Jon Drummond in the 55 meters Saturday night in the Los Angeles Invitational indoor track meet. Grimes closed on Drummond in the final steps and won in 6.10 seconds. Drummond finished in 6.11. Off the field Rudy Sablo, a U.S. Weightlifting Hall of Fame member and a former firefighter, died. He was 84. Sablo was a leading weightlifter, coach and administrator for more than 60 years, serving as chairman of the Amateur Athletic Union's national weightlifting committee.
