Kim Clijsters of Belgium returns a shot to Vera Zvonareva of Russia in the U.S. Open women's final Saturday in New York. STORY HIGHLIGHTS- Clijsters becomes first woman since Williams in 2001 to defend title
- For Zvonareva, it was her second successive grand slam final
- Caroline Wozniacki
- Vera Zvonareva
- Kim Clijsters
- Venus Williams
- U.S. Open - Tennis
(CNN) -- Belgian Kim Clijsters overpowered seventh seed Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 6-1 in exactly one hour to successfully defend her women's singles title at the U.S. Open and her third overall at the tournament.
The lopsided win makes the second seeded Clijsters the first woman to win back-to-back U.S. Open titles since Venus Williams did so in 2000 and 2001. Clijsters also won the 2005 title before retiring the next year for a three-year period.
During the first set, the Russian Zvonareva started off well before being two backhand errors broke her to 2-4, according to the U.S. Open web site. She went on to lose the first set with a backhand into the net.
The second set went in similar form for Zvonareva.
Clijsters dominated the match, winning 78 percent on her first serves.
The 27-year-old married mother will receive $2.2 million for her win.
Clijsters had beaten the third seeded Williams to reach the final, Clijsters' fifth straight hardcourt win over the American.
For Zvonareva, it was her second successive grand slam final after stunning top seed Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets.