Amelie Mauresmo won enough diamonds to last a lifetime. Kim Clijsters will have to do with golden memories.
Mauresmo beat Clijsters 6-4, 7-6 (4) on Sunday to win the Diamond Games for the third straight year, enough to take home the 1 million euro (US$1.3 million) golden racket studded with 1,702 gems. It was too bad it spoiled the last match on home soil in the farewell year of the retiring Clijsters.
"I too am a bit disappointed, because everyone wanted Kim to win. Sorry," Mauresmo said to the sellout crowd of 14,500 at the Sports Palace.
The diamond-studded tennis racket, however, held Mauresmo in its spell all week.
The ostentatious trophy was for the first player to win three titles in any five-year span, and after victories in 2005 and last year, the Frenchwoman was bent on winning again.
"I tried too play it down, but it is important," Mauresmo said.
The gleaming racket amounted to one-tenth of the tour earnings she amassed in her 12-year pro career.
In a tense, close match, the world's third-ranked player was much more enterprising with her moves to the net while Clijsters, fourth in the rankings, never got her serve working properly.
"The important point is to play your best against the best," Mauresmo said.
Mauresmo got her match point on a disputed ace, turning her celebrations afterward in a muted affair, accompanied by the boos of the fans. Clijsters came over to give her a hug at the end and replays showed the point appeared to be good.
"That's tennis," said Clijsters, showing a maturity at 23 that allows her to walk away from the sport without too many regrets.
"I'm not going to sit here and complain about it. Things happen. People make decisions," she said.
The match was played in front of frenetic home fans, all trying to help Clijsters to victory throughout the 1 hour, 48 minute match.
Clijsters cried when local crooners Clouseau serenaded her career, which included a US Open title in 2005, a No. 1 ranking in 2003 and several Grand Slam near misses. Her schedule beyond Wimbledon is unclear -- except that she will marry US basketball player Brian Lynch.
"I am yearning for my wedding day," Clijsters said.
Mauresmo has won her last five matches against Clijsters, including last year's Diamond Games final. Despite the incessant cheers for the Belgian, Mauresmo broke through at the first occasion in the opening set to the take the initiative and never let go again. With her blend of top spin drives, frequent rushes to the net and lethal volleys, she had moves Clijsters could never match.
The Belgian's rusty serve helped Mauresmo, even though Clijsters would often hit the lines on her groundstrokes.
However tight it was, it always was a hopeless chase. Even in the decisive tiebreaker, Clijsters' serve and straying backhands let her down.
"I had a good second set, but it's a matter of a few points here and there," Clijsters said.
Earlier this year, Mauresmo had been troubled by a leg injury and her agility in the backcourt suffered. She was eliminated in the fourth round of the Australian Open and reached only the semi-finals of the Gaz de France Open in Paris.
"I am very proud of playing my best match at the key moment," Mauresmo said.
But after struggling in her first match in Antwerp, Mauresmo has recaptured her blend of power and speed that she showed last year.
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