WOMEN'S TENNIS Clijsters can't do enough to earn No. 1

Justine Henin-Hardenne will finish the season ahead of her.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Kim Clijsters won both the WTA Championships and the biggest paycheck in women's tennis. Yet, she won't end the year as the No. 1 player in the world.
She'll be No. 2 behind countrywoman Justine Henin-Hardenne when the final WTA Tour rankings are released today. Henin-Hardenne will begin 2004 with a 75-point lead over her rival.
Clijsters beat Amelie Mauresmo 6-2, 6-0 in 52 minutes Monday night and became the first player since Steffi Graf in 1996 to win successive titles at the season-ending tournament.
"This year, I played a lot better than I did last year. I was a lot more consistent," she said. "Winning nine tournaments in a year is amazing, so I will have a tough one next year."
Disappointed
Clijsters was disappointed not to play the title match against Henin-Hardenne, who beat her in the finals of both the French and U.S. opens. Henin-Hardenne lost to Mauresmo in a three-set semifinal.
"She deserves to be there as well," Clijsters said. "We've been the two strongest players from the moment Venus and Serena didn't play as much."
The Williams sisters were injured during the last six months, when the Belgians took turns in the No. 1 spot. Venus will drop out of the Top 10 -- to 11th -- for the first time since March 1998.
A year ago, Clijsters defeated both sisters en route to the WTA title.
Clijsters earned $1,000,030 -- the extra $30 represented the WTA Tour's 30th anniversary. She finished the year with $4,091,594 in earnings, the first female player to top $4 million in a season. Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suarez beat Clijsters and Ai Sugiyama 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 for the doubles title.
Clijsters finished the year with a 90-12 record and nine titles. She was particularly successful in California, winning at Los Angeles, Indian Wells and Carson, and she was a finalist in Carlsbad. She won all five of her matches in Los Angeles, including a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Mauresmo in round-robin play Saturday.
How it was played
Clijsters dropped her serve to start the match, then dominated Mauresmo, who had just two more break points against the Belgian the rest of the way. She had 16 winners to Mauresmo's eight.
Clijsters broke Mauresmo three times in the first set and served two love games.