Clijsters, Williams Win Again on Day 3 at US Open

September 3rd, 2009

Clijsters, Williams Win Again on Day 3 at US Open

by Staff

Kim Clijsters thrilled a vocal US Open crowd at she continued her Grand Slam return debut in Flushing on Wednesday, coming from behind to defeat Marion Bartoli 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 and move into the third round.

“I felt she was really dominating all the points just because she was stepping in and taking the risks early on. It was working. She was serving well,” said Clijsters on Bartoli, who looked to injure her thigh in the second set and called the trainer. “I think a few things that were really going well for her. My forehand wasn’t really going the way I wanted to…But then I think it was a smart move to just really mix it up a little bit in the beginning of that second set, throw some high balls in there. Just to mix it up a little bit for her, because she loves stepping in and dictating the points.”

Venus Williams also advanced by ending points quickly against Bethanie Mattek-Sands, defeating her fellow American 6-4, 6-2. Venus said she had been treating her knee injury since her last match on Monday.

“Pretty much ice every hour, a lot of different treatments, also,” the elder Williams sister said. “But I just had to be really, really aggressive, and I really did everything I could.”

The diplomatic Venus would not be baited by the media into railing on Russian Dinara Safina being ranked No. 1, even if her sister Serena wins the US Open.

“My thought’s that if you play consistent, you can be very highly ranked,” Venus said. “I guess it’s all about playing consistent these days. She’s played very consistently, and kudos to her and credit to her for being able to hold onto that No. 1 ranking and playing so well.”

Canadian Aleksandra Wozniack was a surprisingly easy winner over former No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo, bageling the retiring-contemplating Frenchwoman in the second set 6-4, 6-0.

“Definitely was exciting to play on Arthur Ashe stadium,” Wozniack said. “I think I was really trying to focus, you know, and not get distracted by the crowd or anything. I think I did pretty well staying composed. I think I did a pretty good job with everything and I played well.”

Other Top 10-seeded winners were (2) Serena Williams rolling Melinda Czink 6-1, 6-1; (7) Vera Zvonareva outlasting felow Russian Anna Chakvetadze 3-6, 6-1, 6-1; (8) Victoria Azarenka rolling Czech qualifier Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-2, 6-1; and (10) Flavia Pennetta decimating Indian princess Sania Mirza 6-0, 6-0.

Other notable winners on the day were unseeded Russian Maria Kirilenko ousting (12) Agnieszka Radwanska, American (WC) Vania King upsetting (15) Samantha Stosur, and Belgian Kirsten Flipkens topping (20) Anabel Medina Garrigues.

Thursday’s highlights include (4) Elena Dementieva vs. American Melanie Oudin, American junior Christina McHale vs. (29) Maria Sharapova, (1) Dinara Safina vs. German Kristina Barrois, an all-looker in (30) Alona Bondarenko vs. Gisela Dulko, (21) Jie Zheng vs. Alize Cornet, and Kateryna Bondarenko vs. American Shenay Perry.

Also Check Out:
Clijsters Beats Schnyder; How Weak is WTA Tour?
3rd Tourney Into Comeback, Clijsters Wins US Open
Oudin Wednesday Night at US Open; Serena Lines Up Clijsters
Clijsters Straight-Sets Bartoli in Comeback at Cincinnati
UPDATE1: Clijsters Officially Announces She Will Un-Retire in 2009

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 3rd, 2009 at 1:16 am and is filed under Tennis.
Tags: Kim Clijsters, Serena Williams, US Open, Venus Williams

11 Comments for “Clijsters, Williams Win Again on Day 3 at US Open”

grendel Says:

Seeing Clijsters again, hitting the ball so cleanly, finding the open spaces without fuss, getting bloody well on with it and keeping her focus that way and not walking around in self-admiring circles, and not least understanding that a voice box is designed for communication not primeval screaming on the tennis court - boy, what a breath of fresh air!

Posted September 3rd, 2009 at 6:29 am

margot Says:

grendel: she’s great isn’t she? Hope she goes deep. But isn’t Bartoli just ….strange? We’re from a land that loves eccentrics but…..

Posted September 3rd, 2009 at 2:10 pm

jane Says:

“But isn’t Bartoli just ….strange?” Yep, not sure why but maybe she grew up sheltered or something. Agree with you both that it’s nice to see Clijsters play again.

Posted September 3rd, 2009 at 2:15 pm

grendel Says:

Bartoli comes across as likeable as well as strange. And she does hit utterly unexpected,spectacular winners which sometimes seem to come out of nowhere. Also - and this endears me to her! - she is a huge fan of Federer.

Posted September 3rd, 2009 at 6:34 pm

jane Says:

Well she’s also a huge fan of Pierce Brosnan which makes her seem strange to me. LOL. And there’s the stuff about her father making her gain weight to play, etc. Strange. She can be surprising to watch but I’ve never found her game strategic or that interesting. I dunno. Don’t dislike her either - more indifferent I guess.

Posted September 3rd, 2009 at 6:43 pm

grendel Says:

Brosnan can’t be all bad. Think it’s him, he took part in a musical on Abba. Actually sung duets with no more claim to being able to sing than, say, me. I should have said, b.t.w., “endears her to me”. Bartoli doesn’t know me, so I have yet to endear myself to her. I like her because she doesn’t have airs. Some pretend not to, but she really doesn’t.

Posted September 3rd, 2009 at 7:10 pm

jane Says:

I don’t like airs. So that would endear her somewhat more to me, if she really doesn’t have any. Maybe I’ll pay close attention next time I watch her play.

Posted September 3rd, 2009 at 9:05 pm

margot Says:

grendel: apart from the occasional spectacular shot, her game seems quite limited to me. Don’t like parents as coach courtside anyway, seems unhealthy to me. Also far be it for me to denigrate a sister but…surely a wee bit of weight loss would improve her mobility?

Posted September 4th, 2009 at 8:14 am

grendel Says:

margot: limited but the odd spectacular shot - sounds just right. You do wonder how she scores such big wins from time to time. I think sometimes she goes overdrive on the spectacular - things go her way, the lines beckon the ball. b.t.w., is she really fat, or does she have that type of bone structure that makes it look as if she’s fat?

Meanwhile, roll on Clijsters…

Posted September 4th, 2009 at 1:30 pm

margot Says:

grendel: yes, come on KIm! It must be v. difficult to come back, as a serious competitor, after having a child. Did Evonne Goolagon manage it, or am I imagining this?

Posted September 4th, 2009 at 3:05 pm

grendel Says:

Margot: I’m fairly sure Evonne Goolagong did manage it. Another woman, too, but it’s gone. My memory is not what it might be.
Clijsters 6-0, 6-2 against Flipkens. Closer than the score line suggests, the other Belgian has a nice game. I wonder if Clijsters is ready for Venus Williams? Should be some encounter.
I watched the Clijsters match on Eurosport, and Simon Reed mentioned about the possibility of Henin returning. Noone seems to have any definite info. I am sceptical, but if she does, I am sure that Clijsters - indirectly - will have had something to do with it.

Posted September 4th, 2009 at 8:26 pm