DOHA: Belgian Kim Clijsters stole the limelight from new world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki with a battling three-set victory in the season-ending WTA Championships on Sunday. Clijsters, who won the tournament for a third time after her victories in 2002 and 2003, pocketed almost $1.5 million in prize-money for winning the title in the Qatari capital. The 27-year-old was up against an opponent seven years her junior but did not look a step off the pace, battling Wozniacki tooth and nail to seal a 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 win in a match lasting two hours, 20 minutes at the Khalifa Tennis Complex. “I felt like it was never going to end,” the beaming Belgian said in a courtside interview. “It was a really tough battle with some great shots, great tennis and great fitness. I'm glad that I won, obviously it's disappointing for Caroline but I don't know how many more years I'm going to keep doing this so. She has a great future ahead of her.” Wozniacki paid tribute to Clijsters and said the best player on the day had won. “It's been a fantastic week for me,” said the Dane. “Kim just played amazing today and she deserved to win.” The prestigious tournament moves to Istanbul for the next three years. Monfils bags title Third-seeded Gael Monfils of France defeated defending champion Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 to win the Open Sud de France at Montpellier Sunday. Monfils served 11 aces and made the most of Ljubicic's 39 unforced errors to claim his third career title, his first since winning in Metz in 2009. Monfils, who beat Ljubicic for the third time in seven meetings, is likely to play the Davis Cup final against Serbia from Dec. 3-5 in Belgrade. Kukushkin stuns Youzhny Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan won his maiden career title, upsetting top-seeded Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 7-6 (2) Sunday in the final of the St. Petersburg Open – his first final appearance. Kukushkin's previous best career result was a semifinal appearance in Moscow last season where he lost to eventual champion Youzhny in straight sets. “I didn't expect I could win more then two matches here,” Kukushkin said. Melzer wins 3rd career title Defending champion Jurgen Melzer rallied to beat fellow Austrian Andreas Haider-Maurer 6-7 (10), 7-6 (4), 6-4 and win his third career title at the Bank Austria Trophy. The 12th-ranked Melzer, who is now 3-10 in career finals, narrowly escaped defeat when Haider-Maurer served for the match at 5
