SERENA WILLIAMS WINS US OPEN - 3 TIMES IN A ROW

NEW YORK (AP) - Serena Williams ended a difficult-for-her Grand Slam season in the best way possible, winning her third consecutive U.S. Open title by beating Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 6-3 on Sunday.

Williams equaled Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova with 18 major singles titles, the fourth-

most in history. Williams also matched Evert's total of six championships at the U.S. Open and became the first woman to win three in a row since Evert's four-title run from 1975-78.

Williams earned $4 million, a record in tennis - $3 million for the title, plus a $1 million bonus for having had the best results during the North American summer hard-court circuit.

It was a dominant performance to cap a dominant two weeks in Flushing Meadows. Not only did Williams, ranked and seeded No. 1, win all 14 sets she played in the tournament, she never even dropped more than three games in any of them.