Clijsters cruises into the third round at US Open
Kim Clijsters took yet another easy step towards defending her U.S. Open crown by defeating Australian teenager Sally Peers 6-2, 6-1 on Wednesday at Arthur Ashe Stadium’s center court.
Clijsters performed with professional excellence throughout the 56-minute match against the Australian qualifier who ranks 201 and is playing her first Grand Slam tournament.
After the match, Sally Peers said that she idolized Clijsters. "To be honest, I didn't want it to end as I really enjoyed the experience. It was a real big thrill. I was playing Kim Clijsters, the defending U.S. Open champion. It's not every day you get to play someone like that. This is probably a dream come true," Peers said.
Meanwhile, Clijsters told the crowd, "As the match got going, I started to play a little better but I still have a little way to go to play my best tennis." The Belgian said that she wanted to work on her game and to finally give a good competition to all. However, it would take time for her to come back in action; she is trying her level best to regain the old form.
Clijsters remembers 1999 when she had qualified for the Wimbledon and had later played Steffi Graf on Court 1, who was also her, all time favorite star. Graf’s poster hung in Clijsters’ room while she was a kid.
During the match, former world no.1 impressed the spectators with her deep, powerful and accurate ground strokes as well as with her court wide defensive abilities. The mid 90s Fahrenheit temperature didn’t seem to be a big deal for the Belgian.
Kim Clijsters is among the few tennis stars on the tour who could slide on all surfaces. It is thought that her strength lies in the way she forces her opponent to give an extra shot while her biggest weakness is her mental fragility. She was considered a “choker” during the early stages of her career. Clijsters’ calmness in almost every match has resulted in her being voted for the Sportsmanship Award seven times.
Meanwhile Clijsters, who has made it to the round three of her 16th Grand Slam, will now face the 27th seed Czech Petra Kvitova in her next match. Kvitova played her first Grand Slam qualifying draw in the US Open 2007 that earned her first top100 victory over Pauline Parmentier. She could prove to be a tough competitor for Clijsters.
It seems as if everyone’s eyes are on Clijsters’ next match, which would be held in New York. Her fans surely expect her to achieve another comfortable win over Kvitova.
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