Clijsters crushes Venus in Miami final

Belgian Kim Clijsters steamrolled American Venus Williams 6-2 6-1 yesterday to win the Miami Hardcourt WTA title.

The 14th seed added a second Miami title to the one she captured in 2005 - before retiring from the WTA for more than two years only to decide to launch a comeback in 2009.

Clijsters, who married and had a baby during her break from the tour, will climb to number 10 in the world rankings next week, the highest ranking for the former number one since her return to competition.

Her young daughter, Jada, was watching from the stands as the 26-year-old Clijsters wrapped up the victory in just 58 minutes, lifting her arms in triumph when Williams sailed a forehand long on the first of three-match points.

The title is her third since her comeback, which started with a bang last year with a US Open triumph.

Top-ranked Serena Williams sat in the photographers' pit and cheered her sister, but Venus couldn't get her game on track.

While Serena has been sidelined with a left knee injury since her Australian Open victory, Venus had been the hottest player on the WTA tour with 15 consecutive match wins and titles in Dubai and Acapulco last month.