Petra Kvitova, of the Czech Republic, continued her impressive season with victory over Belgium’s Australian Open champion Kim Clijsters in the final of the Paris Open yesterday.

World number 18 Kvitova, 20, won the match in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 to claim her third career title and add a famous scalp to her growing list.

Clijsters had a neck problem and appeared fatigued after a triumphant start to the year, but Kvitova coped admirably with the pressure of facing such an experienced opponent, who was appearing in her fifth straight final.

Kvitova, who reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon last year and the quarter-finals at the Australian Open, secured her first break of serve in Clijsters’s opening service game.

The Belgian fought her way back into the first set but Kvitova broke again to go 4-2 ahead, producing 14 winners to Clijsters’s five and taking a one-set lead with a love game.

It was the same scenario in the second set, with Kvitova procuring an early break before Clijsters fought back.

Clijsters appeared less mobile and less reliable with her serve than usual, however, and when Kvitova secured another break at 3-3, there was no way back.

Despite the defeat, Clijsters will be officially named the WTA’s new world number one today.

Meanwhile, French Open finalist Robin Soderling retained his ATP Rotterdam title with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 defeat of France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga yesterday.

World number four Soderling, the top seed, ran his record over Tsonga to 4-0 after losing his first set in the series.

The Swede, retaining a title for the first time in his career, now owns eight trophies from 18 ATP finals. Soderling maintained his domination over Frenchmen as he won an eighth consecutive match against a player from France.

Tsonga, seeded eighth, was denied his sixth career title after winning his last in October 2009 in Tokyo, venue for his last final.

The defeat was only his second in a final after losing the 2008 Australian Open trophy match to Novak Djokovic.

Soderling claimed victory in one hour 22 minutes, but was out-aced by Tsonga 20 to 12.

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