Kim Clijsters beats Vera Zvonareva to win third US Open

Clijsters has won 27 of her last 28 matches at the US Open

Defending champion Kim Clijsters thrashed Vera Zvonareva in 59 minutes to win her third US Open title at Flushing Meadows in New York. The 27-year-old Belgian, who won last year following a spell in retirement, defeated Russian seventh seed Zvonareva 6-2 6-1.In a desperately one-sided final, Clijsters broke twice in each set. Clijsters has now claimed all three of her Grand Slam titles in New York after winning her first in 2005. "It's been an incredible year, being back in the Open and for the first time I'm able to defend my title," said Clijsters. Clijsters had lost her two previous meetings with Zvonareva, including a recent defeat at Wimbledon as the Russian made it through to her first Grand Slam final.

"In a way I was excited to play her in the final here just to try and get that revenge," said Clijsters. "The one at Wimbledon was one of the most disappointing losses that I've dealt with so far in my career. 

"But today I was able to mix up my game a little more and I think that just got her thinking even more, besides the fact that she was probably thinking about the occasion, where she was playing and being in another final, which is always something that does have an effect on the way you feel." Zvonareva had admitted that her swift loss to Serena Williams at the All England Club had been an experience she failed to handle, and more was expected of her in her second major final. However, after a solid enough start to Saturday's showdown the Russian slipped behind with a double fault and three errors in game six, and Clijsters simply powered away. Another woeful service game saw Zvonareva broken to love when attempting to stay in the first set and she received a warning for racket abuse in the following game after she had been sent sprawling behind the baseline under a Clijsters barrage. Two cracks of the racket did little good and in game two of the second set, Zvonareva double-faulted to drop serve to love once again. 

Such was the one-sided nature of the contest that the seventh seed received a huge cheer when she stopped a run of seven games in a row against her to make it 3-1, and there were even a few ironic cheers when the ever-popular Clijsters double-faulted at the start of the next game.  Zvonareva battled her way to an unexpected break point only for Clijsters to slam the door shut with an ace, and when the Russian double-faulted for the fourth time to hand over yet another break at 5-1 it was only left for the Belgian to seal victory moments later with a forehand winner. Clijsters immediately headed into the stands to celebrate with friends and family, while her defeated opponent sat in floods of tears, seemingly stunned by her lack of performance. "I gave it 100%," said Zvonareva. "I was just physically not there. I just couldn't execute. I have to learn how to recover well and make sure I'm physically fit and ready to play when it comes down to the last matches. "I will have to learn how to pace myself with practicing and preparing. Maybe if I really want to go deep in the Grand Slams, maybe I will have to stop playing doubles." And on her emotional outburst, the Russian added: "I was frustrated because I was losing games to love and was not able to come up with my game. She came up with some great shots in the key moments."

US Open, Flushing Meadows
Dates: 30 August - 12 September Start time: 1600 BST
Coverage: Live text commentary on BBC Sport website and mobiles; updates on BBC Radio 5 live; live on Sky Sports

"I was frustrated because I was losing games to love and was not able to come up with my game. She came up with some great shots in the key moments" .................Vera Zvonareva