2010 WTA Tournament; Kim Clijsters wins the title battle in Doha
The Belgian tennis sensation, Kim Clijsters started perfectly, lost nerves a bit in the middle, however, ended fast in the title battle of the 2010 WTA Tournament in Doha. She cruised past the world number one Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark in three sets
for her third career crown on the tour. The final score line was 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.
Coming into this season’s competition, Kim was the only contender in the field who had a success record at the WTA Tournament in previous seasons. The reigning United States Open winner was also on a roll in big clashes, triumphing in all five finals since
making her come back on the tour back in 2009.
The professional tennis player from Belgium immediately took a lead of 6-3, 4-1, however, the 20-year-old Dane who had won more clashes than anyone this season, did not give up as she improved her game and as a result won seven of the next eight games to
take the second set on Sunday. She also broke for 1-0 in the opening game of the third set but couldn’t continue her form for the rest of the match.
Kim broke right back in second game of the third set and was again in the frontrunner from there, blasting an inside out forehand winner to bounce back at 4-2, holding comfortably for 5-2, then holding again two games later to seal the win.
"At the moment I am kind of relieved it is over. It seemed like it would never end. It was a tough match. We showed some great tennis and some great fitness as I think we showed the crowd some great women's tennis tonight. This was my first time in the Middle
East and it was an amazing experience,” reflected Clijsters after the match on Sunday.
Having also captured this title back in 2002 and 2003, Kim is the fifth contender in the history of WTA to grab the title here on three or more occasions in her career. Martina Navratilova triumphed in the tournament on eight occasions, Steffi Graf five,
Chris Evert four whereas Monica Seles thrice.
Kim captured her fifth WTA crown in 2010, following her victories in Brisbane, Miami, Cincinnati and the year’s final Grand Slam, the United States Open in New York. The only contender who grabbed more crowns than Kim this season was Caroline as she won
a total of six.
The professional tennis player from Denmark, Caroline has a lot to cherish about for this week, making it to one of the greatest career finals and as a result of defeating Francesca Schiavone in round robin play, earning the season end number one on the
WTA Tour. The Dane jumped into the top ranking on October 11 and thus registered her name as the tenth player to end a season number one.
When asked about her opponent, Clijsters added that she is pretty sure that Caroline has a bright future ahead and also congratulated her for securing the year end number one on the tour.
"I have still had a fantastic season, winning six tournaments and beating so many good players. Right now I am going to enjoy my break. I am going to have a few weeks off, and then I will start working hard again and be even better in January,” added Caroline
after her final loss on Sunday.
Tags: