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Clijsters' return is talk of the town at Open
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-08 10:46 NEW YORK: When the Grand Slams roll around, the best stories often revolve around the prospect of Williams vs. Williams, Maria Sharapova, maybe even a possible breakthrough by No 1 Dinara Safina.
All those options have vanished from the US Open, replaced in large part by the potential of Kim Clijsters, the former No 1 who now brings her baby to work. Clijsters defeated No 3 Venus Williams on Sunday, 6-0, 0-6, 6-4, leaving Venus' sister, Serena, as the only top-five player left in a draw that was turned upside down in Week 1 by upsets, comeback stories and the youth movement. "It's still kind of hard to believe," Clijsters said. "But then again, I'm not trying to get carried away with it all." But the door is open for the 2005 champion, on the comeback after a two-year hiatus during which she gave up tennis to have a baby. Kim Clijsters of Belgium celebrates her win over Venus Williams of the US at the US Open on Sunday. Reuters The baby, 18-month-old Jada, is a regular in the players' lounge and Clijsters is looking like she might be a fixture on the tour again. She's a threat this week based on the strength of her own play and also thanks to the other surprises that went down over a wild first week at Flushing Meadows. Safina went home frustrated after a third-round loss, meaning the quest for her first major title will have to wait until next year. Sharapova is gone, too, courtesy of 17-year-old Melanie Oudin. No 5 Jelena Jankovic lost earlier in the week and No 7 Vera Zvonareva blew six match points on Sunday to join all the others seeded in single digits on the sidelines.
Serena, trying for her third major of the year, has not been challenged yet in this tournament. "I just want to keep this level and just stay focused," she said. Even if she does, the Williams-Williams semifinal that seemed all but carved into the bracket before this tournament began could now easily wind up Clijsters-Williams. Given the way she played against Venus, who's to say Clijsters can't be a threat to Serena, as well? "With the kind of training that she's put in, I knew this wasn't just for fun," said Clijsters' husband, Brian Lynch, an American who ended his professional basketball career in Belgium when she decided to unretire. "She was trying to make something happen here." When she was at her peak, Clijsters was one of the few players who had the mobility and power to hang with the Williamses. The whole package was on display on Sunday in Arthur Ashe Stadium. She became the first female wild-card entrant to reach the US Open quarterfinals and could become the first unseeded player to make the Open final since 1997, when Venus did it. She has no world ranking yet because she hasn't played enough tournaments since she came back. When the latest match was over, Venus Williams conceded that a knee injury she suffered in the first round, which required heavy tape, might have hindered her efforts. "I wasn't able to play 100 percent," she said. AP |
