Kim Clijsters upends Caroline Wozniacki, seizes Doha for the first time
This Sunday, Kim Clijsters outdid herself and defeated the current World Number 1, Caroline Wozniacki, in a three set upset which culminated in the 27 year old pro tennis player recapturing the Women’s Tennis Association’s end of year championships after
over 7 years. This victory followed her last tournament, which was a rousing success with Clijsters capturing the 2010 US Open tournament cup by defeating Russian Vera Zvonareva. Despite the fact that the tennis mama’s last professional match was the final
at Flushing Meadows, and that she had not competed in a tournament for the past seven weeks, due to recovery from a foot surgery.
The Belgian player charged her way into the 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 success, although the second set left the match up for grabs, with her Danish opponent returning from a set and 1-4 down to push the match into a decider set. The match lasted two hours and twenty
minutes, leaving both players exhausted by the end: Clijsters told reporters, “I am very relieved it is over, because it seemed it would never end."
The match itself was an amalgamation of long games and excellent rallies. After one unusually long game, Clijsters broke through to snatch up the first set, finding enough momentum to break early on during the second set. However, at this point during the
match, Wozniacki seemed to decide that she had little to lose and began to loosen up her shots to take risks with the set. She broke Clijsters at 3-4 and continued breaking to level the match to two sets each.
Clijsters and her success at Doha may be attributed to her game, which is naturally more forceful and power-driven than Caroline Wozniacki’s style of playing. In addition to this, the 27 year old also refused to be intimidated by the games ups and downs,
playing her signature powerful strokes. Her last great surge, however, was in the deciding set, where she managed to level the score to 2 all by making a comeback. This was, though, her last triumph, after which she faltered and at one point inexplicably halted
the match to call for a Hawkeye replay, only to be proved wrong. She made a fatal mistake soon after, delivering a double fault which helped her opponent to make the crucial break required to shift the match into her favour with a set score of 4-2. From then
on, it was easy sailing for Clijsters, who closed the match out with a final scoreline of 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.
Clijsters acknowledged the difficulty of the match, saying, “It was a very tough battle. I'm glad I won but I don't know how many more years I will play, and I think Caroline has a great future ahead of her." The player, who managed to play some of her career’s
best tennis in this match, was asked if she found it surprising to win a title after being out of the season for 7 weeks. She replied, “In my first career [the years before the birth of her daughter, Jada, whom she often brings to tournaments] I wouldn't have
been able to do.” However, she feels as if she has achieved a lot in her second round as a pro tennis players, saying, “But now I know myself better. I have had plenty of practice, so I already have a match rhythm a little bit, and I try to adjust as fast
as possible after I got here.”
Although the match was a disappointment to Wozniacki, the tournament was a success; she will end the year as World Number 1. She remained upbeat and optimistic, maybe for this reason, saying, “It was still a fantastic week for me. I would love to come back
here, and I would love to try for this title again.”
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