US Open 2011 Women's Champion? – Part 2: Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters was born into a Belgian family on June 8th, 1983, her mother, Els Vandecaetsbeek, was once a Belgian gymnastics champion and her father, Lei Clijsters, had been a flourishing footballer, hence, she
was born into a athletic background. The Belgian entered the professional framework in 1997 after years of sharpening her tennis skills.
Much had changed for the Belgian after publically disclosing her intentions of biding Farwell to professional tennis in 2007; she had wedded, had a baby daughter and her father had died from lung cancer. Nevertheless, in
2009 the Belgian disclosed her intentions to resume her professional tennis career. She obtained a wild card to contest the 2009 U.S. Open, Clijsters made history by winning the Grand Slam by overshadowing Caroline Wozniacki in the ultimate clash for the trophy.
Amidst 2010, Clijsters clinched 3 WTA titles, first was at the Brisbane International contest after demolishing Justine Henin. She also took the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open championship title in Miami, where she beat the then
world number five Venus Williams in the final face-off. Moreover, she also won her 38th title at the Cincinnati Open, where she defeated Maria Sharapova in the final showdown. The Belgian defended her US Open title against Vera Zvonareva, whom she
defeated in straight sets; it was a very significant victory as it was a back to back win.
2011, has been a seesaw ride for Kim Clijsters. This year Kim played in 7 hard court events, starting off with the Medibank International Sydney, where she made it right up until the final but became a runner up against Chinese
Na Li. She then moved on to the first Grand Slam event of the year; the Australian Open, this event proved lucky for Kim as she avenged her loss against Chinese Na Li and finally cemented her name as "Aussie Kim".
During the Fed Cup Week 1, she beat both her opponents on hard surfaces but it was a short lived victory after that. As she kept on falling short, in Paris she lost during the final round to Petra Kvitova in straight sets.
At the BNP Paribas Open held in Indian Wells she lost in the fourth round to French Marion Bartoli.
Up next, was the Sony Ericsson Open held in Miami but alas she was unable to get that title and instead, to everyone’s shock she lost in the quarterfinal. The last hard surface event she contested in was the Rogers Cup in
Toronto, during the second round she lost the first set and eventually retired in the second set due to a stomach injury.
The next event following the Sony Ericsson Open was the second Grand Slam event of the year; Roland Garros. Although, it wasn’t hard surface, she lost on the clay courts during the second round to Arantxa Rus. She was unable
to contest in the third Grand Slam event; Wimbledon Championships and now, is only left with the fourth and last grand slam of the year the U.S. Open.
However, after withdrawing from the Rogers Cup with an apparent stomach injury, it seems she might miss the chance to defend her title at Flushing Meadows at the end of the month.
Kim Clijsters has had an amazing professional career, out of the 624 matches that she has played; she has won an ostentatious 503 only losing 121 matches. The holder of 41 WTA titles had reached her career high ranking of
world number one on the 11th of August 2003.
Had Clijsters not pulled out of the event due to an abdomen injury, the Belgian could very well have bagged her third straight title here.
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