Australian Open 2011: Kim Clijsters to meet Vera Zvonareva in semi-final
2004 finalist and favourite Kim Clijsters moved into her fifth semi-final at the Australian Open 2011 on Wednesday after she successively dismissed eighth seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the quarterfinal.
Appearing for the ninth time at the prestigious event, Clijsters sailed into the semis en route to what could be her first Australian Open title.
Seeded third in the absence of defending champion Serena Williams, Clijsters is the favourite for a title win. The closest she ever came to a title win was back in 2004, when she made it all the way to the finals but lost to compatriot Justine Henin.
Clijsters is the only player in the semis besides Li Na to enjoy a no set loss record so far in the event.
Hopeful for a win, Clijsters was able to move past her quarterfinal round with much ease. Opening serve in the first set, Clijsters broke the Pole’s service in the third and fifth game to secure a 4-1 lead. Extending this lead with a loss of two games, Clijsters
was able to win the first set 6-3.
Although the first set was somewhat of a breeze for the Belgian, the second set really got her sweating as the Pole fought back hard.
Not allowing Clijsters an opportunity to break service, Radwanska was able to keep the score tied, pushing the set into a tiebreaker. Playing well, Radwanska took a 2-0 lead in the tiebreaker. However, Clijsters levelled the score back at 4-4. From there
on, Radwanska had more to do with Clijsters victory than the Belgian herself. Hitting a winner and cashing in on the Pole’s errors, Clijsters was able to win the tiebreaker 7-4 and sealed the match.
In a match that lasted almost 90 minutes, Clijsters hit 41 winners to Radwanska’s 14, which more than catered for the Belgian’s 37 unforced errors and 6 double faults. Losing 28 of 67 points on service and converting only 6 of 13 break point opportunities,
Clijsters was able to keep her cool and won a place in the final four.
Playing Clijsters in the semi-final round will be second seeded Russian, Vera Zvonareva. Pitted against 26th seed Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinal, Zvonareva won the match in straight sets over the Czech equalling her career-best at the event.
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