Kim Clijsters vs Venus Williams US Open preview
Kim Clijsters arrived in the US Open semi-finals in 2009 two wins from completing the feel-good story of the tennis year.
Then, it was Serena Williams standing in her way. And in a match that will forever be remembered for Serena’s outburst at a line judge who foot-faulted the world No. 1 in what proved to be the final point of the semi-final, it was Clijsters who progressed to the final and the second US Open title of her career, just three tournaments into her comeback after more than two years out of the game.
This year, Venus Williams awaits the Belgian in the semis, and this year it is Venus’ run to the final four that is more remarkable than her opponent.
While Clijsters arrived in Flushing Meadows almost two weeks ago as the title favourite, Venus began her tournament as somewhat of an unknown quantity after a knee injury kept her out of competition during the hard court warm-ups. Before the first round in New York, the third seed’s last match had been her quarter-final loss at Wimbledon.
With that lack of preparation, and having celebrated her 30th birthday this year, while failing to reach the semi-finals at a major other than Wimbledon since the 2007 US Open, there were plenty of reasons to discount Williams as a contender at Flushing Meadows this year.
And yet here she is.
It may be premature to label this as Venus’ last role of the dice when it comes to adding a third US Open title to the pair she won in 2000 and 2001, but it’s also equally true that the absence of sister Serena (with a foot injury) from this year’s draw has improved the elder Williams sister’s chances of doing so.
But first to Clijsters, a player with whom Venus shares a 6-6 win-loss record in their past matches. While the head-to-head indicates an evenness to the competition between the two, it’s the defending US Open champion who can claim the recent honours.
Clijsters has won their last four matches, including the two they’ve played since the former world No. 1 launched her comeback in 2009. The first was the topsy-turvy affair that saw the mum-of-one knock Venus out of Flushing Meadows in the fourth round last year; the second the final in Miami earlier this year where a slew of errors by Williams helped hand Clijsters the title.
By her own admission, Clijsters serve hasn’t been up to scratch so far at the US Open, and she struggled with that aspect of her game in an error riddled quarter-final against Sam Stosur.
So, there’s still room for improvement for the 27-year-old, who said after her quarter-final win that, “Throughout this whole, say, ten days now I feel that tennis-wise, I feel that my groundstrokes have gotten better.”
Venus’ power game too has been finding its mark this tournament, and as has long been the case when it comes to the Williams sisters, she also possesses an innate ability to raise her game in the moments that count.
Then again, that’s something that Clijsters seems to have improved on in part two of her career too, and the US Open, where she’s currently on a 19-match winning streak has been a particularly happy hunting ground for the world No. 3.
Prediction: Clijsters to book her place in the final.
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