Clijsters Wins Bank Of The West Classic

Kim Clijsters should look into becoming a permanent resident of California. Clijsters may have been thousands of miles away from her native Belgium, but she looked right at home in the Bank of the West Classic on Sunday. Clijsters won the Stanford based tournament for the fourth time in six years with a win over Patty Schnyder.

Clijsters hasn't lost at the Bank of the West Classic since 2002. She needed just 52 minutes to down Schnyder, 6-4, 6-2 on Sunday. The Belgian got off to a good start in the first of five events leading up to the US Open.

She won her first Grand Slam at the US Open last fall.

Clijsters won the Stanford based tournament in 2001 and 2003, missed the event with an injury one year later, and then repeated her title last year, beating Venus Williams.

Clijsters told the AP she enjoys going through the same routine in Stanford, particularly when the tournament yields the same results.

"It feels so familiar every time I come back here," said Clijsters, who never faced a break point against Schnyder. "It feels so comfortable. I stay in the same hotel. ... I like the intimate stadium, and from the first time I played here, I had that good feeling. It's only become better over the years."

Martina Navratilova in the history of the WTA to win the tournament more times than Clijsters, she did six times.

Clijster's is the No. 2 ranked player in the world. She collected her 32nd career title and her second of this season. She has claimed that she plans on retiring at season's end.

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.