Saturday 11 September 2010

Women's US Open - Kim edges Venus in thriller

Kim Clijsters edged Venus Williams in the US Open Semi-final as she came from a set down to beat Venus in a thrilling contest, 4-6 7-6 6-4. The match was highlighted by moments of genius, changes in momentum and alarming errors at crucial stages of the match. The first set went largely with serve until Venus Williams broke at 3-3 as her excellent movement and patient play saw her hit 10 winners and claim the first set 6-4. Clijsters started the second set much better as she seized the initative to take a 3-0 lead. Venus managed to recover the break however Clijsters dug deep and broke back to lead 5-2 and served for the second set at 5-3. However Clijsters faltered as she produced 4 errors to let Venus back in the set. As the set reached the tiebreak, many people would have fancied Venus to run away with it especially after winning 3 tiebreaks in the earlier stages of the competiton; however this time round her game fell apart at the crucial stage. Her serve disintegrated with 2 double faults and she handed Kim the tiebreak, 7 points to 2 and crucially the second set.

As we moved into the third set, Venus looked increasingly anxious as she mulled over her inability to produce the shots in the tiebreak. It didn't start much better for her in the 3rd set as she missed break point opportunities on the Clijsters serve before being broke herself. As the two traded blows in a tense and dramatic final set, Venus got the break back to level the scores at 4-4. However Clijsters came roaring back producing the shot of the match with a sensational lob to claim the break back and serve for the match. Kim served the match out superbly battering balls to the baseline of Venus and forcing her to make several errors as she continued her 20 match winning streak at the US Open. She will now face off against Vera Zvonareva in the final on Saturday night in what should be an excellent final.

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