Venus crushes Shaughnessy

Williams had too much for her rival

Venus Williams routed fellow American Meghann Shaughnessy in straight sets to win the Betty Barclay Cup in Hamburg on Sunday.

The 6-3 6-0 win was the 17th career title for the Wimbledon and US Open champion.

Williams, the top seed, hammered Shaughnessy in just 54 minutes, dropping just 12 games in four matches in sweeping to the title, which she also won in 1999.

Shaughnessy, who has risen to number 25 in the world, had faced Williams twice in the past and forced her fellow American into tie breakers in both losses.

Shaughnessy: Venus "was just too good"

But on Sunday, the match was one-sided.

So much so that when Shaughnessy saved Williams' first match point because Williams netted the ball after a sparkling rally, the lower-ranked player threw her arms into the air in mock triumph.

But Williams slammed a volley seconds later to end the match and then, as her hopes faded, began making numerous easy errors.

Williams, the world's second-ranked player, took just 19 minutes in the second set to finish off her fellow American.

Nevertheless, Shaughnessy will climb to number 21 in the rankings after ending 1999 in 97th place.

Pressure

"I felt kind of hopeless today," she said. "She was just too good.

I definitely didn't serve very well, and she puts so much pressure on you and she didn't give me any time to play how I wanted to.

I've played some good tennis this week but it's disappointing to finish like this."

Williams is hoping to pass Martina Hingis at number one by the French Open, which takes place this month.

She showed in Hamburg that she now seems as comfortable on slower European clay as faster surfaces.

"I had to play well to have the scores that I did this week because I've played them all before and had some crazy scorelines," Williams said.

"I just feel uninhibited while I'm playing. I'm just swinging and that's the best part, when I don't have to think. I just go for it."

However, she knows there is no room for complacency.

"I definitely believe I can improve a lot as far as moving towards the ball. I think I returned serve very well this week, but there's definitely room to improve."

Williams collected $90,000 (£62,500) for winning the Hamburg title, bringing her career earnings to over $7m (£4.9m).