Hewitt, Clijsters win matching tennis titles at Indian Wells

INDIAN WELLS: Love, game, set, match. Lleyton Hewitt and Kim Clijsters left the Pacific Life Open tennis tournament with matching “his” and “hers” titles, the Australian winning the men’s championship and his Belgian girlfriend taking the women’s.

“He’s been in these types of situations, in big finals more than I have,” said the 19-year-old Clijsters, who beat Lindsay Davenport 6-4, 7-5 on Sunday. “I was happy I got to play first because otherwise I would have been watching more of his match. I think then it would have been harder for me to focus for my own match.” The top-ranked Hewitt beat the weary Gustavo Kuerten 6-1, 6-1. “It’s obviously fantastic for both of us to come here, No 1 seeds, and everyone wants to knock you off, and we’ve both been able to handle the pressure and situation very well this week,” said Hewitt, a 22-year-old Australian who not only defended his Indian Wells title but won his second tournament in as many weeks.

“It’s a bit awkward going on straight after her. I’d much rather be out there supporting her than sitting in the locker room waiting.” Clijsters, ranked No 3, said earlier that she’s almost more nervous watching her boyfriend of some three years play than when she’s on the court herself. Was Hewitt worried about her match? “He was still sleeping when I had to leave,” she said. Clijsters earned US $332,000, and Hewitt got US $400,000. Asked if the champions pool their money, Hewitt smiled and said, “I don’t know about that.” Hewitt was never threatened by Kuerten, who had only about two hours to rest after finishing his rain-delayed semifinal with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 victory over Rainer Schuettler.