Clijsters outclasses Maleeva

Clijsters is up to five in the world rankings this year

Top seed Kim Clijsters swept past Magdalena Maleeva in 49 minutes on Sunday to capture the Sparkassen Cup for the second year in a row.

Despite a painful nerve in her playing arm, Clijsters went on the attack from the first shot in Leipzig, in Germany.

The sixth-seeded Maleeva was never in the contest as Clijsters romped home 6-1 6-1, clinching victory with an ace on her first match point.

After collecting her second title of the season Clijsters said: "I can still feel the pain. I am going to rest for five days now, and I think I need it.

I think Clijsters played a perfect match and she was moving very well

Beaten finalist
Magdalena Maleeva

"Magdalena played a very good semi-final and I knew I had to play hard from the start.

"I played very well today. I didn't make a lot of mistakes and I felt really comfortable out there.

"She is a strong player, so I knew I had to play well, and that's what I did right to the end," she added.

Maleeva was full of praise for her opponent. "I think she played a perfect match and she was moving very well.

"I kept going for more, but she was too solid."

It was the 18-year-old Belgian's fifth career title and she has risen to number five in the world rankings this year.

For Maleeva it was second time unlucky in the Leipzig final. In 1995, she was unable to play Anke Huber because of a stomach illness.