HAMBURG, Germany – With her second consecutive title in
hand, Venus Williams turned her attention to Martina Hingis and the
No. 1 ranking.
|  | | Venus Williams has now won her past two tournaments. |
Williams hammered fellow American Meghann Shaughnessy 6-3, 6-0
Sunday to capture the Betty Barclay Cup in her first tournament
since winning the Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Fla., a month ago.
The top-seeded Williams, ranked No. 2 in the world, needed just
54 minutes to win her 17th career title and finish her complete
domination of the Betty Barclay Cup, which she also won in 1999.
Williams dropped just 12 games in sweeping four matches and spent
less than four hours on court against the overmatched competition
at the $565,000 tournament.
"I think I had to play well here to have the scores I had,
because I have played all of them before," said Williams.
Then she talked about the French Open, which starts later this
month and where she has a chance to pass Hingis as the world's
top-ranked player.
"I really want to be No. 1," Williams said. "I dreamt about
winning Roland Garros. It was like a nightmare because I woke up
and it wasn't true, so hopefully next time I wake up I have already
won it. I would really love to win it."
Hingis and Williams are both entered at the German Open, which
starts Monday in Berlin, although the American won't be able to
pass the Swiss star there even if she wins the title.
Shaughnessy had faced Williams twice in the past and forced her
fellow American into tiebreaks in both losses, the second taking
place at the Australian Open this year.
"Compared to the match at the Australian Open, she is playing
with a lot more power and confidence. Her serve is much better, she
just puts so much pressure on you," said the seventh-seeded
Shaughnessy.
The match Sunday was so one-sided that when Shaughnessy staved off
the first match point when Williams netted the ball after a
sparkling rally, she threw her arms into the air in mock triumph
and the spectators cheered wildly.
But seconds later, Williams slammed a volley to wrap up the
match in which Shaughnessy was overpowered from the beginning.
"I felt kind of hopeless. It wasn't close enough for there to
be a turning point," said Shaughnessy, who will climb to No. 21
after ending 1999 at No. 97 in the rankings.
Williams, the world's second-ranked player, needed just 19
minutes to rush the second set and finish off Shaughnessy and
looked very comfortable playing her power game on the slow European
clay which used to give her trouble.
That is also the surface used at the French Open.
"I never said I don't like clay. It's a rumor. For me it's just
a small adjustment, I just keep playing no matter where the
tournament is," said Williams, who admitted it was a pretty good
week for her.
"I just feel uninhibited when I'm playing. I'm just swinging.
That's the best part. I don't think, I just go for it and I feel
free."
She collected $90,000 for winning the title, boosting her career
earnings to more than $7 million.
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Sunday's results
Venus has no trouble with Dokic in reaching Betty Barclay Cup final
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