Clijsters beats Douchevina to win Eastbourne final

Kim Clijsters completed a happy comeback from injury when she beat Russian qualifier Vera Douchevina 7-5 6-0 in the final of the Eastbourne WTA tournament on Saturday.

Published on: Jun 19, 2005, 18:23:00 IST

PTI | By Anonymous, Eastbourne

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Former world number one Kim Clijsters completed a happy comeback from injury when she beat Russian qualifier Vera Douchevina 7-5 6-0 in the final of the Eastbourne WTA tournament on Saturday.

Belgian Clijsters, who missed most of last year with a wrist problem and then suffered a knee injury soon after her first comeback in March, picked up a prize of $93,000 in the Wimbledon warm-up.

The first set, played in fierce sunshine, was a battle with five breaks of serve. When Clijsters prevailed, Douchevina seemed to lose heart.

The 18-year-old Russian, who beat Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova in the 2002 junior final at the All England Club, picked up just six points in the second set which was over in 16 minutes.

"Last year wasn't a very easy year for me so this means a lot to come here for the first time and win this," said Clijsters, who has dropped to 17th in the world and was seeded seventh here.

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