Paris, Feb 16: World number two Kim Clijsters needed less than an hour to beat home favourite Mary Pierce 6-2 6-1 in the final of the Paris Open. Pierce has been in good form recently but had no answer when the Belgian won seven games in a row to take the first set and go 3-0 up in the second.

It was a first title of the season for Clijsters, who was runner-up at last month's Australian Open in Melbourne.

Pierce has not won a singles title since winning the French Open in 2000.
And Clijsters set her sights on winning the Paris Grand Slam after winning her 20th title.

"I've always played well in Paris and I hope this can set me up well for when I come back for Roland Garros in May."

"I knew that Mary had played a lot of sets this week and that she could be in difficulty if I moved her around," Clijsters said.
Bureau Report