The Williams sisters have consistently been the most successful players in Miami, but for the second straight year one of tennis' favorite sister act was routed in the final of the $4.5-million tournament. Coming in on a 15-match winning streak and leading the head-to-head, Venus Williams just couldn't overcome this time, and Kim Clijsters rolled to a 62 61 victory, the Sony Ericsson Open title and a return to the world Top 10 rankings.Given their form coming in, it looked like the stage was set for some fireworks. Williams had only dropped one set along the way, to Daniela Hantuchova in the fourth round, where she rallied from 61 20 down to win; Clijsters was the same, storming into the semis without losing a set and, in an absolute thriller, edging out fellow former No.1 Justine Henin in a third set tie-break. Both had played solid tennis, and both had won the Miami tournament before.
On Championship Saturday, however, it was a mismatch. Perhaps the Williams win streak caught up with her, or Clijsters felt a new breath of life after a near brush with defeat against Henin; whatever the cause the scoreboard said it all, and Clijsters took her second Sony Ericsson Open in a 58-minute rout, 62 61.
"I knew I had to come out here and play well," Clijsters said. "My semifinal was such an exciting match, I just tried to keep going from there and not lose a beat, especially playing against someone like Venus, a great competitor and a great athlete. She's one of the best players women's tennis has ever had."
Clijsters won her 37th Sony Ericsson WTA Tour title, her second in Miami, following a dream run to a title often nicknamed "the fifth major" back in 2005.
"I was so excited to come back here," Clijsters said. "It's nice to go back to tournaments where you've done well. It's great to play in such a beautiful stadium and the tournament is organized so well, which makes everything so much easier when you're travelling with a family."
"Congrats to Kim. What a great tournament she had, and she played really well today," Williams said. "It wasn't my best day but I'll be back next year."
Williams, who had won Miami three times before (1998, 1999, 2001) and who was coming in off of back-to-back titles in Dubai and Acapulco, was clearly not at her best: over 30 unforced errors in the match and, at one point, her left knee getting taped up. In one stretch, Clijsters won 17 straight points.
"Sometimes when you hit a few bad shots it's not as easy to reel it in. Every now and then it happens to the best of us. I think this actually happened to Kim in Australia, so she knows what it's like," Williams said. "But I was always thinking about getting back into the match, at at every point. But that's sport. I expect a lot from myself, of course, but I'll be ready for my next competition."
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Singles - Final
(14) Kim Clijsters (BEL) d. (3) Venus Williams (USA) 62 61
No comments:
Post a Comment