Tag: Clijsters

PARIS - New world number one Kim Clijsters was defeated 6-4 6-3 by Czech fourth seed Petra Kvitova in the Paris Open final on Sunday. Top seed Clijsters, who won the Australian Open last month before helping Belgium into the Fed Cup last four, secured her place as the new number one by reaching the semi-finals at the Stade Coubertin.
However, she was given a stern test in the opening set, losing her serve twice as Kvitova's power and superb returning dominated. Clijsters settled

PARIS - Kim Clijsters hopes to regain the head of the WTA tennis rankings this week and the Belgian needs to make the semi-finals of the Paris-Coubertin tournamemt to overtake Denmark's incumbent Caroline Wozniacki.
"I won't say this does not interest me, it would be great to manage it again during this my second career," said Clijsters, who was top for 12 weeks in 2003 and seven in 2006 before her retirement and subsequent return to the game two years later.
"When I first

ANTWERP - Australian Open champion Kim Clijsters plans to play on for a maximum two years following her remarkable run of success since returning to the tour in 2009 after taking time out to have a baby. Clijsters, 27, has proved unstoppable force at the majors after a 2-1/2 year maternity break, winning three of her four grand slam titles after the birth of her daughter Jada.
While many now hold her up as a torchbearer for working mothers -- at the 2009 US Open she became the

PARIS - Australian Open winner Kim Clijsters has risen to second place in the world rankings and within close range of Caroline Wozniacki who holds on to the top spot despite once again failing to win a Grand Slam title.
China's Li Na, who lost in Saturday's final in Melbourne, moves up to a career-best seventh place with Francesca Schiavone of Italy up to fourth behind Vera Zvonareva.
Former world number one Serena Williams, who has not played since winning the Wimbledon

MELBOURNE - Belgium's Kim Clijsters came from a set down to beat Li Na 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 and win her maiden Australian Open title Saturday, dashing Chinese hopes of a first ever Grand Slam win. After a shaky first set, three-time US Open-winner Clijsters fought her way back in a thrilling final in front of 15,000 fans at Rod Laver Arena, including a vocal Chinese contingent.
"I finally feel like you guys can call me 'Aussie Kim' because I won the title," Clijsters told her Australian

MELBOURNE - Misfiring Kim Clijsters Wednesday admitted she would be on her way out of the Australian Open if she cannot improve in her crunch semi-final with in-form Russian Vera Zvonareva. "Everything has to be better (against Zvonareva)," Clijsters said. "I mean, serving, returning, the unforced errors. Everything has to be better.
"But I'm in the semi-finals and I don't feel like I've played my best tennis probably. "So it's a good thing. I feel that I'm hanging in there,

MELBOURNE - Rafael Nadal stormed past Croatia's Marin Cilic into the Australian Open quarter-finals Monday in his bid to unite the Grand Slam titles, as Kim Clijsters and Andy Murray also went through. World number one Nadal was in devastating touch against the 15th seed, who struggled throughout and double-faulted on match-point to go down 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 after 2hr 31min on a cool evening at Rod Laver Arena. Nadal, who caught a virus this month and sweated buckets in Saturday night's

MELBOURNE - World number one Rafael Nadal survived a brief scare against local teenager Bernard Tomic to reach the Australian Open last 16 Saturday, as women's favourite Kim Clijsters also battled through.
Nadal, gunning to unite the four Grand Slam titles for the first time since 1969, was surprisingly broken twice by the confident Australian 18-year-old in the second set before recovering strongly to win 6-2, 7-5, 6-3. Nadal, ironically the last teen to beat a world number one

MELBOURNE - World number one Rafael Nadal Thursday warned he was fully recovered from a strength-sapping illness as he took another decisive step towards a historic sweep of the Grand Slam titles. Nadal coolly dispatched American qualifier Ryan Sweeting 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 at Rod Laver Arena, joining women's favourite Kim Clijsters in the third round just hours after his arch-rival Roger Federer scraped past Gilles Simon.
Britain's Andy Murray, the world number five, also beat

MELBOURNE - Top seed Rafael Nadal was handed an easy win at the Australian Open Tuesday, as Kim Clijsters humiliated Dinara Safina 6-0, 6-0 and former number one Ana Ivanovic was another high-profile casualty. Nadal, the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open champion, was leading 6-0, 5-0 when Brazilian journeyman Marcos Daniel threw in the towel after being troubled by a left knee problem.
In an action-packed day two, Britain's Andy Murray went through in similar circumstances

MELBOURNE - Belgium's Kim Clijsters is hot favourite to add the Australian Open to her US Open crown after five-time champion Serena Williams' injury withdrawal opened the door to new contenders. Clijsters, 27, heads the list of challengers with compatriot Justine Henin returning from injury and question marks over world number one Caroline Wozniacki after a string of recent defeats.
Clijsters arrives in good form after reaching the Sydney International final, and will be

SYDNEY - China's Li Na upset two-time champion Kim Clijsters on Friday to win the Sydney International title and her fourth career WTA crown. Eighth seed Li recovered from going behind 0-5 in the opening set to rally for a convincing 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 victory in 1hr 30min.
It was her second WTA title in Australia after winning the Gold Coast event in 2008 and last year she was a surprise semi-finalist at the Australian Open. Li will stay at her 11th ranking despite the win, while

SYDNEY - Two-time champion Kim Clijsters will play China's Li Na in the final of the Sydney International after a marathon three-set victory on Thursday. Clijsters struggled early before storming home in a final set tiebreaker to overcome unseeded Russian Alisa Kleybanova, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/1) in 2hr 39min. The Belgian third seed will now take on Li, who earlier wore down Serbian qualifier Bojana Jovanovski 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 in 1hr 40min. Clijsters, 27, who won here in 2003 and 2007, will

SYDNEY - Kim Clijsters stormed into the semi-finals of the Sydney International with a straight sets demolition of Victoria Azarenka on Wednesday. The Belgian world number three reaffirmed her status as favourite for next week's Australian Open with five service breaks on the way to a 6-3, 6-2 win over the seventh-seed from Belarus in 85 minutes. Clijsters will face Alisa Kleybanova on Thursday after the unseeded Russian overcame Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 in the

SYDNEY - US Open champion Kim Clijsters dropped just three games in a warning to her Australian Open rivals in a confident start to the Sydney International tournament on Sunday.
Third seed Clijsters crushed Romanian Alexandra Dulgheru 6-1, 6-2 in 62 minutes and only lost six points on serve. "Maybe not the fastest serves I've hit, but I was very focused on trying to place my serves well and just making a lot of serves, especially when you're playing into the sun," Clijsters

BANGKOK - World number one Caroline Wozniacki and Kim Clijsters will be seen sharing court space in Thailand. Come New Year's Day, the two will play an exhibition match in Hua Hin, Thailand. Immediately following their friendly match they will head off on short vacations with their families before the 2011 season kicks off in earnest.
The two leading ladies of tennis are currently on location with their families in Hua Hin, where the 84 World Tennis Invitation Hua Hin, is being

ANTWERP: The event is scheduled to take place at Wimbledon and both Belgian stars appear keen to participate after coming out of retirement to continue their careers.
Clijsters took time out to have a baby, before returning to claim the US Open title, which she then defended at Flushing Meadows earlier this year. Henin also gave up the sport only to return 18 months later but her comeback was put on hold when she picked up an elbow injury during the Wimbledon fortnight this