Written by Aleksandra Depowska
Kim Clijsters won’t defend her Warsaw title. The Belgian, who admitted her focus is know more on marriage than tennis, lost her opening J&S Cup encounter to the in-form qualifier, Ukraine’s Julia Vakulenko 6-7 3-6. Earlier on Thursday, Venus Williams eliminated Elena Dementieva to reach the quarter-final.
This was a sad display from Clijsters in her final clay-court appearance before planned retirement. The Belgian looked unfocussed and committed number of unforced errors before losing to the hard-hitting Ukrainian, whom she had beaten in last year’s tournament without dropping a set.
“I thought I was not playing any worse than the last year when I was starting the clay-court season,” Clijsters told reporters. “Julia just didn’t give me a chance to move her along. I tried to step into the return a little bit and be more aggressive, but I felt she was stepping in even more. How do I feel about not playing on clay anymore? It feels great, no more bad bounces! Now my focus is less on tennis, I’m looking forward to come back to my fiancé.”
“I was eager to challenge her, I always enjoy playing the top players, I feel no pressure and just give my best,” said Vakulenko. “Now I feel like having much more experience, and I’m physically fitter then I was the last time we played. It’s probably the most spectacular win of my career so far.”
In a match widely commented as the most spectacular confrontation of the tournament so far, Venus Williams defeated Elena Dementieva 6-1 7-6. Despite both players struggling with their serve, both of them produced enough high-quality tennis to keep spectators on the edge of their seats. VenusWilliams had the opportunity to close the match while serving for the set at 5-4, but allowed the Russian to use her impressive defensive skills and tie at 5-5. Williams was more consistent in a tie-breaker, which she won 7-4.
“It was a tough match, she’s a great clay-court player and had a good timing today,” Williams said. “In the first set I was moving forward much more than in the second. All in all, I moved quite well, but hopefully tomorrow I will be even faster. I need to work on my return, it definitely makes a big difference when it’s solid.”
“It was a good fight, but I wasted a few chances,” confirmed Dementieva. “It took me some time to get used to her rhythm, I wish I would have started playing my game much earlier and not given her this big advantage. Coming back after injury layoff, I didn’t have much experience to play such a powerful, aggressive player. Of course it’s great the Williams sisters are back on tour, but I’d prefer them to be seeded so that I woudn’t have to play them in the second round.”
