Arantxa Rus upsets Kim Clijsters in the second round – French Open 2011
Dutch Arantxa Rus bounced back from set down in the opener to upset Belgian mama Kim Clijsters 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 in their second round matchup at the 2011 Roland Garros on Thursday.
Playing at the event after almost five years, Clijsters sports a 22-6 win loss record at the event since her debut here, back in 2000. Although never a titlist here, the Belgian has made it twice to the final. She once made it to the final in 2001 when she lost to Jennifer Capriati and then again in 2004 when she lost to compatriot, Justine Henin.
In her seventh year and possibly last year here, Clijsters met and defeated Anastasia Yakimova in the opening round on Tuesday. The Belgian enjoyed a 6-2, 6-3 victory over the Belarusian. The Dutch, on the other hand, bounced back from a set down to do away with Aussie qualifier Marina Erakovic in the opening round.
Kicking off day’s play at the Philippe Chatrier, Clijsters plays the Dutch for the first time in her career. Looking to dominate from the start, the Belgian broke Rus in the first game and then minutes later in the third to lead the opener 3-0.
However, a break later from Rus put her on the scoreboard as she reduced the deficit to 3-2.
This was though a very short-lived fight for the Dutch, as Clijsters soon extended her lead to 5-3. A successful break later in the ninth game, Clijsters clinched the first set 6-3, going one up in the set score.
A similar start in the second set put Clijsters in another early 3-0 lead. Capitalising on the errant strokes of her opponent and hitting powerful winners all over, Clijsters was able to extend her lead to 5-2. Bouncing back in the eighth game, Rus won the next four games breaking the Belgian twice to lead the score 6-5, before serving out the set to clinch the set at 7-5.
With one set win each, the match now entered the decider. Carrying over her form from the second set, Rus broke the Belgian early to lead the score 4-1, which she only extended to a breadstick win a few minutes later.
The Dutch now moves on ahead to play Maria Kirilenko or Chanelle Scheepers.
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