Clijsters Repeats As US Open Women’s Champion

Kim Clijsters has her own version of a US Open 3-peat.  The Belgium native not only defended her title, she has not lost at the US Open since 2003.  Clijsters won the event in 2005, did not play 2004, 2006-2008.

Clijsters played an almost flawless game, winning against Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 6-1, in a match that was more lopsided than the score would indicate.  Zvonareva held her on at the beginning, until Clijsters took control of the court midway through the 1st set, forcing Zvonareva to play defensive the rest of the night.

Clijsters hit 17 winners, but most of her points came from simply spraying the ball all over the court with laser precision.  Zvonareva put up a good fight, but simply could not keep pace with her more experienced opponent.

In the men’s semifinals, No. 1 Rafael Nadal advanced to his first US Open final, defeating Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets.   Nadal will be looking to become just the 7th man to complete a career Grand Slam.

In the other men’s semi-final, with the world cheering for Roger Federer to advance to a showdown with Nadal, Novak Djokovic came from 2 match-points down in the 5th set to upset the Swiss.   Djokovic will meet Nadal, who he has defeated 3 consecutive times on hard courts.