Clijsters wins title, edges toward No. 1

LUXEMBOURG—Kim Clijsters moved closer to reclaiming the No. 1 ranking, defeating Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany 6-2, 6-4 Sunday to win the Fortis Championships a fifth time.
The third-ranked Belgian has won 26 of 27 matches and is closing in on top-ranked Maria Sharapova and No. 2 Lindsay Davenport, both of whom are injured.
Clijsters, who won her first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open, used a strong backhand to pressure Groenefeld and hit two aces to end the first set. Groenefeld regrouped and tied it 4-4 in the second, but the top-seeded Clijsters stepped up her game.
Clijsters beat Groenefeld in their only other meeting in July, winning 6-4, 6-0 in a semifinal in Stanford, Calif.
The Belgian held the No. 1 ranking briefly in 2003 but sat out almost the entire 2004 season with a wrist injury.
Clijsters won 195 points this weekend and plans to play at next week’s tournament in Filderstadt, Germany. Sharapova has 4,808 points, followed by Davenport with 4,619 and Clijsters with 4,201. Sharapova withdrew from the China Open last week because of a chest injury and Davenport because of back problems.
Clijsters said she will play again in Luxembourg next season. She visits the same Italian restaurant every year while in the country. “I am very superstitious, so I will keep doing it,” she said.—Agencies.