EASTBOURNE, England, 19 June 2005 — Kim Clijsters whipped her grass game into fighting shape for tomorrow’s start of Wimbledon with a comprehensive 7-5, 6-0 defeat of first-time finalist Vera Douchevina to win the 585,000 Eastbourne Championships yesterday.

The Belgian who missed much of 2004 with a wrist injury and then dealt with a knee problem this spring, spent 58 minutes in lifting the 24th title of her career.

With a 15th seeding at Wimbledon and an opening match against a Briton, four-time Grand Slam finalist Clijsters is keen on her chances. The Belgian battled through a stiff 42-minute first set against the 54th-ranked Douchevina, before settling to sweep the second in 16 minutes.

Gasquet Celebrates Birthday With Tour Title

In Nottingham, England, fourth seed Richard Gasquet celebrated his 19th birthday by winning his first ATP Tour title with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Max Mirnyi in the final of the Nottingham Open yesterday.

The French teenager, who was treated to a rendition of Happy Birthday To You by Mirnyi and the centre court crowd, follows in the footsteps of compatriot and world number 26 Sebastien Grosjean who enjoyed his maiden ATP victory in the event in 2000.

Gasquet, who came to the fore when he beat world No. 1 Roger Federer on clay in Monte Carlo in April, has grown in confidence on grass.

Champion Llodra Downs Philippoussis, Ancic Wins

In Den Bosch, Netherlands, Mark Philippoussis’ encouraging return to form came to an end yesterday when he was beaten 7-6, 6-7, 6-3 by defending champion Michael Llodra in the semifinals of the Ordina Open.

The Australian wildcard, who has slipped to 188 in the rankings after a series of injuries, dropped his serve just once, in the third set, and the left-handed Llodra took advantage to reach his first singles final of the year.

The unseeded Frenchman will now meet third seed Mario Ancic of Croatia, a semi-finalist at Wimbledon last year, who beat unseeded Czech Jan Hernych 6-4 6-4.

Czech Koukalova Wins First Title

Czech Klara Koukalova recovered from a poor start to beat compatriot Lucie Safarova 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the final of the Ordina Open yesterday, claiming her first WTA Tour title.

Eighth seed Koukalova, 23, who had lost all five of her previous finals, was outplayed at the start with Safarova leading by a set and a break. But she hit back to clinch victory on her ninth match point. When Koukalova dropped her serve at the start of the second set it looked as if her title drought would continue. But suddenly Koukalova recovered some confidence and the mistakes began to flow from the less experienced 18-year-old Safarova.