2011 Sony Ericsson Open WTA Part 2: Kim Clijsters
World Number 2 Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters is currently ranked World Number 2, and is one of the oldest tennis players in the Women’s Tennis Association Top Ten. She is 28 years old, and has been playing professional tennis since 1997.
The right-handed pro is known as one of the Comeback Queens of tennis, having retired in 2007 only to return to the tour two years later. Her first Grand Slam upon her return was the 2009 US Open, joining the tournament as an unseeded
player and a wildcard. She shattered her opposition on the way to the final, winning the Grand Slam title and becoming the first wildcard and unseeded player ever to do so.
She has won a total of four Grand Slam titles, with three of her victories coming after her return to the tour. She and Margaret Court are the only two players in the history of the WTA to win four Grand Slam titles as mothers.
Kim Clijsters made her Miami debut in 2000, three years after joining the tour. She was ranked World Number 36, and received a bye into the second round where she ousted Tamarine Tanasugarn in her first match at the tournament.
She went on to oust Czech pro Adriana Gersi, before falling to former World Number 1 Martina Hingis in the fourth round.
Before her first retirement, Clijsters’s best performance at the Miami event was in 2005. She was ranked World Number 38 at the time, and was unseeded at the hard court event. Her first match was against German pro Sandra Kloesel,
whom she defeated in straight sets. From then on, the player went on to defeat American pro Amy Frazier, French twelfth seed Nathalie Dechy, fifth seed Anastasia Myskina of Russia, fourth seed Elena Dementieva and first seed Amelie Mauresmo in straight sets.
Clijsters then proceeded to oust former World Number 1 Maria Sharapova in straight sets, winning the 2005 Miami tournament without dropping a single set.
After retirement, the Belgian pro participated at the event in 2010. She was ranked World Number 14 at this time, and received a bye into the second round where she faced and defeated Petra Kvitova in straight sets. She went on
to oust Israel Shahar Peer, Belarusian fourth seed Victoria Azarenka, Aussie pro Samantha Stosur and Belarusian player Justine Henin to make it to the final. She defeated Venus Williams in the final to reclaim the title. The only set she dropped throughout
the tournament was against Henin.
Although Clijsters did not perform well at Indian Wells due to an injury, she is expected to make a full recovery in time to defend her title at the 2011 Sony Ericsson Open.
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