Kim Clijsters outshines Caroline Wozniacki in the quarter-final clash – Australian Open 2012
As it was already anticipated, the defending champion, Kim Clijsters of Belgium, blew away the world number one, Caroline Wozniacki, in the quarter-final round of the Grand Slam Down Under. The 11th seed Belgian veteran
wrapped up victory in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6(4), taking just one hour and 45 minutes to drive Wozniacki out of the competition in an authoritative manner.
The jam-packed crowd at the Glorious Rod Laver Arena was fully backing the defending champion and cheered every winner she nailed at her opponent’s court. The score line certainly does not depict the actually level of dominance
Clijsters imposed on the world number one in the contest. Wozniacki appeared rusty and completely out of form throughout the matchup but it was the sloppy game play of Clijsters in the middle parts of the contest which allowed the top seed Dane to hang a little
longer in the contest.
Clijsters took hold of momentum right from the beginning and went on to bag the opening set in just 43 minutes of play. Her elegant forehand winners and forceful two-handed backhand strokes were a treat to watch for the tennis
fans at the Melbourne Park. Clijsters cracked in 39 thudding winners in the matchup, with the Dane opponent lagging far behind with a mere 13. Had the Belgian not coughed 25 unforced errors in the second set, the world number one would have been disposed of
way early than the actual match time.
After pocketing the opener in a comprehensive fashion, Clijsters lost a bit of her steam in the following set, letting Wozniacki to bounce back in the match. A series of unforced errors from the 11th seed Belgian allowed
Wozniacki to register a crucial serve break in the ninth game and she held her next two serves to drag the set into a tie-breaker round.
The decider was going neck-to-neck and the scores were levelled at 4-4 when Clijsters shifted her gears to reel off the next three points in a row. The Belgian closed out her emphatic straight sets victory at 7-6(4), marching into
the semi-finals and carrying on her voyage to defend her Grand Slam championship title in Melbourne.
Tags: