Clijsters begins title defense with shaky first-round win
Tennis newsCBSSpor Defending champion Kim Clijsters briefly lost her step on a windy day before recovering in time to win her 15th straight match at the U.S. Open.
The second-seeded Belgian beat Hungarys Greta Arn 6-0, 7-5 in the first round Monday. She fell behind 4-0 in the second set, and the 104th-ranked Arn had a chance to serve out the set at 5-4. But Clijsters got the break, then did it again to clinch the straight-set victory.
More U.S. Open Notes Clijsters on Serenas injury Brackets: Women | Men Past champs Women | Men
Clijsters said she wasnt aggressive enough playing with the wind at her back early in the second set, waiting for the ball instead of moving up for it.
“She kind of put me under pressure a little bit where it should have been the other way around,” she said.
A year ago, Clijsters was a wild-card entry in only her third tournament back after 2½ years away from the sport. Now shes one of the favorites to win the Open.
Melanie Oudin and Francesca Schiavone also know how quickly perceptions can change. Oudin has struggled with higher expectations since her crowd-pleasing run to the U.S. Open quarterfinals last year. So has Schiavone after her breakthrough French Open title in June.
But neither showed any signs of the pressure in cruising to dominant first-round wins.
Oudin, the 18-year-old from Marietta, Ga., needed just 56 minutes to beat Olga Savchuk of Ukraine 6-3, 6-0. Schiavone, the Italian who won her first Grand Slam weeks before her 30th birthday, dispatched Ayumi Morita of Japan 6-1, 6-0 in 58 minutes.
If anything, Schiavone seems to be having fun in the spotlight. Asked why shes a fan favorite, she playfully replied, “I attract them because Im beautiful.”
Andy Roddick, one of four former champs to play Arthur Ashe Stadium on Day 1, advances 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. (Getty Images) Schiavone acknowledged that maybe shes a bit more motivated at a Grand Slam than at other tournaments. Schiavone, seeded No. 6, had been just 3-6 since winning at Roland Garros. She lost in the first round at Wimbledon and dropped her opening match at three other tournaments.
She was pleased a year ago, she was relegated to an outer court.
“I like to do it, because adrenaline is coming up and I enjoy much more than play in faraway court,” she said with a laugh. “Maybe because I am 30 years old and now I want to enjoy with people.”
Playing for the first time in two months, Venus Williams beat Roberta Vinci of Italy 6-4, 6-1 Monday night to reach the U.S. Opens second round.
The No. 3-seeded Williams hit 10 aces, reaching 126 mph, and earned her 200th career victory in a Grand Slam match. Two of her seven major titles came at the U.S. Open, in 2000 and 2001.
She hadnt competed since being upset in the Wimbledon quarterfinals June 29. After taking time off to rest, Williams sprained her left knee cap shortly before she was supposed to play in a hard-court tuneup tournament this month.
Williams winced after landing awkwardly on her left leg early in the second set against Vinci.
Five-time winner Roger Federer was one of four past U.S. Open champions scheduled to play in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday, along with Andy Roddick, Venus Williams and Clijsters. Another previous winner, Lleyton Hewitt, was slated to be in Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The ninth-seeded Roddick celebrated his 28th birthday by beating Stephane Robert of France 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.
Two-time French Open runner-up Robin Soderling was pushed to five sets by a qualifier ranked 214th in the world. The No. 5-seeded Swede beat Andreas Haider-Maurer of Austria 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (2), 5-7, 6-4.
No. 24 seed Daniela Hantuchova beat former world No. 1 Dinara Safina 6-3, 6-4. The unseeded Safina missed almost three months this year with a back injury and has slipped to 50th in the world rankings. She was the top seed at last years U.S. Open, but lost in the third round.
Russias Elena Dementieva, the No. 12 seed, beat Olga Govortsova of Belarus 6-1, 6-2. Sixteenth-seeded Shahar Peer of Israel defeated Jelena Kostanic Tosic of Croatia 6-4, 7-5.
Fellow Russian Nikolay Davydenko, the No. 6 seed on the mens side, beat American Michael Russell 6-4, 6-1, 6-3. No. 11 Marin Cilic and No. 22 Juan Carlos Ferrero also advanced. No. 27 Fernando Gonzalez of Chile retired against Ivan Dodig of Croatia.
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