"When she starts going for it, it's really difficult to stay with her because the points go really quick," Seles said.
Playing just her second tournament since May, Seles reached the final by upsetting the top two players in the world. She beat No. 2 Jennifer Capriati in the quarterfinals, then No. 1 Martina Hingis in the semis.
She missed most of the year with a stress fracture in her right foot that kept her out of the French Open and Wimbledon.
Despite the victory, Williams will drop a spot to No. 4 in the world when the WTA Tour rankings are released today. Lindsay Davenport, who lost to Williams in the semifinals, moves from fourth to third. Hingis will stay on top for her 201st week - the fourth-longest at No. 1 since the rankings began in 1975.
"Sure, I want to be No. 1, but I want to win Grand Slams first. That's a top priority," said Williams, who improved to 35-5 this year with her fourth title.
Williams earned $125,000 and a car.
In other tennis tournaments:
* Romanian Andrei Pavel upset two-time U.S. Open champion Patrick Rafter, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-3, to win the Tennis Masters Series-Canada in Montreal. Pavel earned $400,000, the biggest payday of his 11-year career.
* Czech Adriana Gersi won the first WTA Tour title of her career, defeating Swiss teen Marie-Gaiane Mikaelian, 6-4, 6-1, at the PreCon Ladies Open tournament in Basel, Switzerland.
Basketball
* Free-agent swingman Kendall Gill, who averaged 9.1 points and 4.2 rebounds last season for the New Jersey Nets, signed with the Miami Heat. Terms were not disclosed.
* Duke teammates Carlos Boozer and Chris Duhon led the United States to an 84-71 victory over Argentina at the World Basketball Championship for Young Men in Saitama, Japan. The Americans (3-0) play Japan tomorrow.
Horse Racing
* Congaree, who finished third as a heavy favorite in the Jim Dandy at Saratoga on Saturday, will not race again this year because of an injured knee. The colt finished third in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness.
* Acting Gov. Donald T. DiFrancesco signed two bills to help New Jersey's horse racing industry. One authorizes off-track betting in the state for the first time, while the other expands simulcasting of horse races.
Sport Stops
* South Carolina running back Derek Watson has been reinstated to the university and the football team and will be available for the opener Sept. 1 against Boise State, coach Lou Holtz said. Watson was suspended from the team in May after he was charged with assault after a female student said he punched her in the arm.
* Britain's Sarah Price broke an hour-old world record in the 200-meter backstroke at the Australian short-course swimming championships in Perth. Price's time of 2 minutes, 4.44 seconds in the 25-meter pool improved the mark of 2:05.83 set by Australia's Clementine Stoney.
* David Brabham and Jan Magnussen won the American Le Mans Series' Grand Prix of Portland (Ore.), ending Audi's 11-race winning streak. *
