Clijsters to Meet Zvonareva in the Final
Unbeaten for 20 consecutive games at the US Open, defending champion Kim Clijsters ousted Venus Williams to reach the second Flushing Meadows final in a row. The Belgian needed all the three sets, including a tie break in order to assure a place in the big final which will take place on Saturday against newly qualified Vera Zvonareva, who also eliminated darling Caroline Wozniacki in the other semi final. Clijsters beat the American after conceding the first set to overcome Williams 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-4. The decisive moment came right in the second set as Williams committed few double faults t allow the Belgian think of the third set.
This is what Clijsters would also declare after the tough game. “I’m glad she made a few double faults in the tie-breaker there. I just tried to make the points and whenever I felt I had the opportunity to step up and accelerate a little bit, I tried to keep the pressure on her. It was a great match to play. Conditions weren’t easy but I think we played some high level tennis. It was a fun night.” Thus, Venus lost in front of the home crowd which proved not to be enough for her to take the win, too. Williams acknowledged the match was already lost since she couldn’t get back together in the second set. The poor tie break cost her the loss as well. “Obviously in the tie-break I wasn’t able to play as well as I wanted. I had too many errors, and she played some good tennis. I just wish I could have played the bigger points a little better. I may have lost the match, but that’s just this match. There will be others. I feel like as long as I’m striking the ball well, I’m gonna keep playing. At this point I’m striking the ball well, so there is no end in sight at the moment,” the American said.
However, she couldn’t tell more that promise to come back the next year. “I’ll definitely be back next year. This is what I do, and I feel like I played great tennis even with minimal preparation.” On the other half of the table were top seeded Caroline Wozniacki and Wimbledon runner-up Vera Zvonareva. The Russian is close for to her first Grand Slam title after missing the opportunity in London this year against Serena Williams. She won this season the Pattaya City tour though. In front of her was Dane whom the US Slam opening saw her as the main favorite for the trophy. Unfortunately, despite a very good progress until the best four round, she proved to be too weak on Friday’s meeting against Zvonareva who defeated the youngster in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 to advance in her second Grand Slam final of the season.
“It was a tough match. It was very difficult for both of us with this wind today but I think I was patient and aggressive. It was a great experience for me back at Wimbledon but I think it’s something in the past. I’m trying to look forward,” the Russian, who celebrated her 26 birthday early this week, declared after the match. As for the Danish player, who won three of the last four WTA tours and four the entire year, saw herself overcome by a very aggressive Russian who is showing probably her best tennis under the Meadows sun. “She played a really good game, definitely. She was not missing a lot. She was going for her shots. Most things were going in. I had chances, and I don’t know, I made some mistakes today that I usually don’t do. Yeah, it was a tough day for me in the office,” Wozniacki added.11
