Kim Clijsters outfoxes Ana Ivanovic in the second round – Brisbane International 2012
A former world number one, Kim Clijsters, rallied past the Serbian tennis ace, Ana Ivanovic, in a tipsy turvy three set thriller at the Brisbane International on Tuesday. Clijsters clobbered a 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 success over the Serb
to reach the quarter-finals at this WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) hard court event taking place in Brisbane, Australia.
Belgian number one required an hour and 18 minutes to overwhelm the unseeded Ivanovic, ranked 22nd in the WTA Premier Rankings, in their fifth meeting. She carried her momentum from their last meeting in Miami and after
bagging this match, Clijsters extended her lead by 5-0 in the head-to-head series against the Serb.
Clijsters breezed into the opening set and drew the first blood in the opening game. Later the Belgian held her serves until the fifth game when she converted another break opportunity to her advantage and eventually went 5-1 up.
The Belgian veteran broke Ivanovic’s serve once more and sealed the opener by earning a breadstick in just 21 minutes.
The frustrated Serb went berserk in the following set, as she re-ignited her vintage spark and went on a four games rampage before Clijsters could hold on. She maintained her concentration in the set and broke the Belgian’s serve
again in the last game to earn a breadstick in 23 minutes.
The Bilzen native, Clijsters, remained off-track in the final set and gifted away her opening serve to subsequently go 3-0 down. However, the Belgian made a fitting reply as she blasted ground strokes and reeled off next six games
in a row, sealing the decider with a 6-3 win.
All in all, Clijsters - the four times Grand Slam champion, who last played her match in Toronto in August but was ruled out due to injuries, displayed exceptional skills and abilities throughout the match. She spilled more double
faults but manipulated a better first serve share. The Belgian also clinched 30 out of 43 points on her first serve and smashed two aces to dominate.
"I feel like I haven't played for so long, but I feel fresh and ready to go," Clijsters said before the start of this first WTA tournament of the season. "My tennis is where it should be and now it's just a matter of trying to
play a few matches. I have to focus on my game and on trying to get match rhythm."
Up next for the fifth seeded Belgian is the winner of the match between top seed, Samantha Stosur, and Czech Iveta Benesova.
Tags: