Clijsters wins Doha

Kim Clijsters started strongly, lost her way a little and finished fast in the final of the WTA Championships - Doha 2010, scoring a 6-3 - 6-3 win over Caroline Wozniacki for her third career title at the season-ender.

Coming into this year's event, Clijsters was the only player in the field who had a winning record at the WTA Championships in previous years (she had been 15-6 here, with none of the other seven players better than even). She was also on a roll in big matches, winning all five finals since returning to tennis last year.

All of that may have played into a very fast start for Clijsters, who burst out to a 6-3 4-1 lead; Wozniacki, who had won more matches than anyone this year, did not surrender - in fact she raised her level in a big way, upping the aggression and winning seven of the next eight games to win the second set and break for 1-0 in the first game of the third. The match would turn once more, however.

Clijsters broke right back in the second game of the third set and was again the frontrunner from there, firing an inside out forehand winner to break again for 4-2, holding easily for 5-2 then holding again two games later to complete the victory.

"At the moment I'm kind of relieved it's over. It seemed like it would never end," Clijsters said on court right after the match. "It was a tough battle. We should some great tennis and some great fitness - I think we showed the crowd some great women's tennis tonight. This was my first time in the Middle East and it been a very amazing experience."

Having also won this event in 2002 and 2003, Clijsters is the fifth player in WTA history to win here three or more times (Martina Navratilova won here eight times, with Steffi Graf winning four times and Monica Seles three times).

Clijsters won her fifth WTA title of the year, following triumphs in Brisbane, Miami, Cincinnati and the US Open; the only player who won more titles than Clijsters this year was Wozniacki (the Dane won six titles this year).

Wozniacki has a lot to be happy about after this week, making it to one of her biggest career finals (last year's US Open final was arguably her only bigger final, and she fell to Clijsters there too) and, by virtue of beating Francesca Schiavone in round robin play, securing the year-end No.1 ranking - she rose to No.1 on October 11 and is the 10th player ever to finish a year No.1.

"This may be disappointing for Caroline, but she has a great future," Clijsters added. "I also have to congratulate her on making it to the No.1 ranking."

"This has been a fantastic week for me - the support is always amazing here," Wozniacki said. "I had a great week. Kim just played amazing today and she really deserved to win."

Kim and Caro to play in final.

Four of this year's best performers on the WTA took center court Saturday, all battling for berths in the finals of the WTA Championships - Doha 2010. And with ferocious forehands and blistering backhands among their repertoires, it was one of the best days of tennis the entire season.

Kim Clijsters and Samantha Stosur, the No.3 and No.5 seeds, were the first to play. Stosur started quickly, breaking Clijsters in the second game and building a 3-0 lead; Clijsters broke back, however, and after saving set point at 4-5 always seemed to be in control, cruising through a tie-break to end the 61-minute first set and blowing through the second set in 25 minutes to improve to 5-0 in her head-to-head series against Stosur with a 7-6(3) 6-1 victory.

"Sam and I have played some tough matches in the past, but today I was able to play well on the important points. That's what helped me win the first set," Clijsters said. "In the second set I think her level dropped a little bit."

"That's what happens when you play against the best in the world. You have to play absolutely at the peak. If you drop off just that little bit, you get punished for it," Stosur said. "I had the set point and she hit a ball right on the line. You have to say too good on shots like that. She deserved to win it in the end."

Clijsters is playing a WTA tournament in the Middle East for the first time. "To play the WTA Championships here is very special. The fans are great here - my match against Azarenka went until 1am the other night and so many people stayed. I really appreciate that. I hope they keep supporting women's tennis."

The second semifinal went much like the first, with Caroline Wozniacki recovering from a close encounter in the first set then cruising through the second set to win. Wozniacki, the No.1 seed, squandered an early 4-1 lead and found herself down two set points with Vera Zvonareva serving at 5-4, 40-15; but she fought both of them off and ended up winning nine games in a row to seal victory against the No.2-seeded Russian in straight sets, 7-5 6-0.

"I was up 4-1 in the first set and suddenly she had two set points," Wozniacki said on court after the match. "First I want to thank the crowd for supporting me so much today and all week. Without you guys I wouldn't be here."

"I feel like in the beginning of the second set I lost a little bit of concentration and gave her three games right away," Zvonareva said. "Then I think it was a little bit too late. She was already dominating the second set. Against a player like Caroline you can't give her so many mistakes. I'm disappointed."

Wozniacki and Clijsters have only met once previously, with Clijsters winning in an entertaining straight-setter in the US Open final last year, 7-5 6-3.

"Right now I'm just going to enjoy this moment. I'm in the finals and it's a huge tournament," Wozniacki said. "We'll see what I come up with tomorrow."

Dementieva calls quits on a Marvelous decade.

She fought alongside the biggest names on the WTA for over a decade, right until the end too. And following her last match of this week's WTA Championships - Doha 2010, Elena Dementieva called it a career.

After Anna Kournikova's stint at the top level in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Dementieva was the first of the current wave of Russians to make a mark, cracking the Top 20 on September 11, 2000 after a shock run to her first Grand Slam semifinal at the US Open. She stayed in that elite for 524 of the next 529 weeks, including this week, and she spent an amazing 328 career weeks inside the Top 10 (peaking at No.3 for five weeks in the spring of 2009).

Dementieva seemed to get better and better with age, her most treasured title, the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, coming at age 26, and her two Top 5 finishes coming at 27 and 28 (at the end of the 2008 and 2009 seasons).

In addition to 16 WTA titles, Dementieva reached another 16 finals, including Grand Slam finals at the French Open and US Open in 2004. Players had to go to the ends of the Earth to beat her; who could forget Serena Williams' 6-7(4) 7-5 8-6 win over her in the semifinals of Wimbledon last year, where the eventual champion had to save match point in what is widely regarded as one of the best matches in recent memory. Dementieva reached the semifinals or better at Grand Slams nine times, doing it at least once at every Grand Slam.

Dementieva's success wasn't just limited to singles. She won six WTA doubles titles (including the WTA Championships in 2002 with Janette Husarova) and reached another seven finals (including two US Open finals, in 2002 with Husarova and 2005 with Flavia Pennetta). Her doubles career-high was No.5.

But after 12 years competing at the highest level, the Russian, who celebrated her 29th birthday earlier this month, decided to bow out on the WTA's biggest stage, her last match coming against Francesca Schiavone. The 30-year-old Italian would win that match in an hour and 33 minutes on center court, 6-4 6-2.

"This year in Doha was very special for me because it was my last tournament," Dementieva told the crowd. "I'd first like to thank Stacey Allaster. We're very lucky to have you as the leader of the tour. You do so much to make our tour better, trying to take women's tennis to a different level. It has been a big honor to be a part of the tour for such a long time. I'd like to thank all the people from the WTA - it was so nice to get to know all of you and work with you for so many years. I'm going to miss you so much. Thanks to all the players for the amazing experiences, all the years I spent on the court with you. And thanks to all the people around the world for supporting me, and my fan club, I could feel your support no matter where I was in the world. Thank you for your devotion.

"Most importantly, thanks to my family, especially my mom. You've been very supportive, encouraging, inspiring... you were always there for me. It was a long way and we did it together. I love you mom.

"It's so emotional. It's hard to say goodbye. I'm going to miss you so much."

"Russia is proud to have you. You've been a great inspiration and role model for kids," Vera Zvonareva said on court. "You've done so much, not just for Russian tennis but for Russian sport. The whole country is proud of you."

"We kind of grew up together. I've been playing with her since the juniors," Kim Clijsters said. "It's nice to see her look forward to something new in her life. She's been one of the most professional, nicest girls on tour.

"It will be rare to see another player like her."