US Open 2010: Kim Clijsters and Venus Williams make it into the quarters
The 2009 United States Open champ, Kim Clijsters from Belgium defeated Ana Ivanovic in a total of two sets to make her way into the quarterfinal round in New York. The final match score was 6-2 6-1.
Both of them struggled on serve early on in the match until Clijsters broke on two occasions to lead 5-2, which proved to be the turning point as the 22-year-old Serbian surrendered.
After grabbing the opening set, the second-seeded raced to a lead of 4-0 and soon claimed the victory in a time period of fifty nine minutes.
In other action at the Flushing Meadows, the fourth-ranked American Venus Williams also did well to defeat her sixteen -eeded foe, Shahar Peer from Israel in a total of three sets. The final match score was 7-6 (7-3) 6-3.
Venus made only forty eight percent of her opening serves and was broken on three occasions. The two-time United States Open winner after the match admitted that she did not play at her very best in New York.
"It was a bit tricky however I am glad that I managed to stay positive till the end. As far as my fitness is concerned, I am feeling quite alright at the moment and I am happy to be back on the courts after my knee injury at Wimbledon,” said the thirty year old Venus.
As a result of this victory, the American tennis star will next play the French Open winner, Francesca Schiavone in her next round match of the United States Open tennis tournament 2010, who quite comprehensively got the better of twenty seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in a total of two sets. The final match score was 6-3 6-0.
The sixth seeded Italian continued her fine form on Louis Armstrong Stadium to surpass the nineteen year old Russian, who was participating in the round four of a major championship on the very first occasion in her career.
Anastasia needed medical attention on her arm and committed a total of four double faults and twenty nine unforced errors as Francesca reached the final eight at the Flushing Meadows on the very first occasion in seven years.
With gusty conditions returning in New York on Sunday, Kim exhibited a game that showed all the signs of a contender willing to keep hold of the title she grabbed back in 2005 as well as in 2009.
Although, both Kim and Ana suffered early breaks of serve however it was the Belgian in the end who gradually controlled the situation with the help of her aggressive game on the court.
It took Kim, who made a comeback to the game of tennis last season after retiring back in 2007, about thirty minutes to win the first set with a powerful backhand that left Ana hopeless and increasingly disappointed on the court.
Although Ana, who is currently ranked number forty in the world, showed some glimpses of the brilliance that once took her to the top world ranking back in 2008, however, Clijsters didn’t allow her to settle down on the court and sealed victory without even dropping a single set.
The Belgian after the match said, “I played quite well and I am glad to reach the quarters in New York. She is definitely a good player without any doubt however all I did in my todays clash was that I didn’t lose my focus till the end and played my natural game. I am very happy with the way I am improving.”
Clijsters as a result of this victory will face Samantha Stosur in the quarter final round of the United States Open tennis tournament 2010 in New York.
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