Clijsters Deals Bych-slapping at WTA HasseltPosted on October 27, 2005 Top-seeded Kim Clijsters made her debut Wednesday at the WTA stop in Hasselt a quick one, cruising past Russian Ekaterina Bychkova 6-1, 6-3 to set up a meeting with Karolina "The Spreminator" Sprem.
"There was definitely a bit of rustiness there tonight," Clijsters said. "She's a good player, she beat [Svetlana] Kuznetsova at the US Open, and she surprised me with her shots sometimes." The 22-year-old Belgian has won 29 of 31 matches since Wimbledon. "Its really nice to play in Belgium, to give something back to the fans, and give them a chance to see me play," Clijsters said. "It's amazing to think the last time I played here in Belgium eight months ago I was only coming back and now I've won a Grand Slam and am close to No. 1 in the world. It's incredible." Other seeded winners Wednesday were (3) Francesca Schiavone (d. Italian countrywoman Camerin), and (8) Katarina Srebotnik (d. Santangelo, bagel in the second). Unseeded winners on the day were American qualifier Meilen Tu (d. Loit 6-1 in the third), Italian Roberta Vinci (d. (Q) Minella), the Croatian Sprem (d. (Q) Savchuk 1-and-1), and Germany's Julia Schruff (d. (WC) Callens). On Thursday's schedule are Krajicek vs. Safarova, Flipkens vs. Stosur, Safina vs. Craybas, Vinci vs. Dechy, and Clijsters vs. Sprem. |
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