PROVING THAT no hiatus could put her off her game, Kim Clijsters beat Venus Williams on Saturday in Florida, 6-2,6-1 and got the Sony Ericsson Open title in just 58 minutes. Clijsters had taken some time off from tennis for the her toddler Jada, remaining off the court for two and a half years.

The onslaught of Kim Clijsters against Venus Williams was more psychological, with the latter seeming exhausted, even as the bandages on her legs saddened her fans. For Clijsters too the win worked better as a moral booster, after disappointing performances in the last two months.

In the first set, when Kim Clijsters put scores at 1-1, Venus Williams lost her focus, making a number of errors, even as she tried to put up a fight against her. After the match, Venus Williams conceeded this, saying, “Today wasn’t my best day physically and to not play your best is a mental battle.”

In fact, the only tough match for Kim Clijsters in this tournament has been the semi final against Justine Henin, which was helf on Thursday. The game against Justine Henin comes after Clijsters had beaten Henin in Brisbane and saw both players give as good as they had recieved against each other. Kim Clijsters said, “The semifinal was such an exciting match. I tried to keep going from there and not lose a beat from there.”