Amelie Mauresmo won enough diamonds to last a lifetime. Kim Clijsters will have to do with golden memories.
Mauresmo won a $1.3 million diamond-studded racket trophy Sunday, beating Kim Clijsters 6-4, 7-6 (4) in the final of the Diamond Games tournament.
The victory spoiled Clijsters' farewell home match before a frenetic crowd of 14,500 at the Sports Palace. The 23-year-old Belgian has said she will retire at the end of the season.
"I too am a bit disappointed, because everyone wanted Kim to win. Sorry," Mauresmo said to the sellout crowd of 14,500 at the Sports Palace.
The 8.8-pound gold racket trophy studded with 1,702 diamonds was for the first player to win three titles in any five-year span, and after victories in 2005 and last year, the Frenchwoman was bent on winning again.
"I said all week I didn't think about it, but honestly I thought about it the whole week," Mauresmo said.
The world's third-ranked player was much more enterprising with her moves to the net while Clijsters, fourth in the rankings, never got her serve working.
"The important point is to play your best against the best," Mauresmo said.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
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