Kim Clijsters came into the Australian Open as many analysts’ sexy pick to win the tournament and after she devastated former No. 1 Dinara Safina 6-0, 6-0 in the first round, she cemented herself as preeminent favorite. With Clijsters clicking on all cylinders, Australian Open 2009 finalist Safina became the first former No.1 in Open era history to suffer a double bagel defeat at a Grand Slam. While Safina has struggled since returning from back injury last summer, she by no means anticipated being hammered in such fashion.
Clijsters had come into the match with a 7-2 record against Safina, but had dropped two out of her last three matches against her. But the Russian isn’t even close to the same level player who took out Clijsters on a hard court at 2009 Cincinnati, and the Belgian was never truly threatened.Clijsters played an incredibly clean match, nailing 17 winners and a mere four unforced errors, while the stunned Safina only managed eight winners and committed 14 unforced errors. The three-time US Open champion was faster, more powerful, more accurate with her serve and her return.
“I expect my opponent to come out and play their best tennis,” said Clijsters, who has now beaten six different opponents 6-0, 6-0 at the Grand Slams. “She obviously didn’t do that today. But my attitude still was there to try and finish it off and not let her get back in the match, build some confidence, build some rhythm. She just doesn’t have that same power anymore as what she used to have. She used to have one of the best backhand down the lines in the game, unpredictable. Now she just doesn’t use it as much. Movement‑wise the ball was in my court. I was able to move her around and didn’t feel like I was put under pressure too much. alls were sitting up nice and high, in a nice position, where I was just really able to focus and dictate the points.”
Three-time Grand Slam finalist Safina, who looked like she could become a dominant player in 2008 and 2009, was shell-shocked. Not only did Clijsters bury her, but she was also knocked down 6-0, 6-1 in Hobart last week by Marion Bartoli. She has no feel for the ball, little depth or angle on her shots, isn’t serving well or threatening her foes with her return.
“There was nothing that I could hurt her. Embarrassing,” Safina said. ” But to lose two tournaments in a row 6‑0, 6‑1, 6‑0, 6‑0, it’s really to scratch the head and to think what the hell I’m doing? She was just cruising and cruising. In the changeovers, I was like, What I have to play to hurt her? I could not find the answer. It’s tough to play what you don’t know what to play. Nothing was hurting her, not my backhand, my forehand or my serve. My return, nothing. She was dictating basically from the first point.”
Somewhat remarkably, Clijsters has never won the Australian Open despite being one of the best outdoor hard court players of her era. In 2004, she reached the final, only to be stopped by fellow Belgian Justine Henin in a tight three setter. She’s had her chances in Melbourne, but has never come into the tournament in such a good position, having won the US Open for the third time last autumn as well as the year-end WTA Championships.
“I’ve always lost to good players and always felt that, maybe didn’t really play my best tennis when it was most needed in the semifinals and the final,” said Clijsters, who reached the semifinals on four other occasions and faced losses to Jennifer Capriati, Serena Williams, Amelie Mauresmo and Maria Sharapova. “I do feel that this is definitely a surface and the court and the color is something that I like. But I don’t think like that. I see each Grand Slam or tournament as an opportunity to try to do better, as an opportunity to improve.”
However, this version of Clijsters is not the same player that took those losses. Since her 2009 comeback after briefly retiring to become a wife and mother, she’s a much more composed competitor who has a greater understanding of her possibilities on court. She no longer just has to rely on her foot speed, backhand and return, she can serve big, crush forehands and close points out at the net. Most importantly, she has a ton of self-belief.
“I think I’m a more mature person,” Clijsters said. “I think that’s also something that has an impact on the way that you feel on court. So I think my best tennis, I could do it then, too, but maybe not throughout a whole match or maybe not consistently throughout a whole tournament. If you want to win a Grand Slam, you have to do that. I’m not the youngest one out there anymore, so [my maturity] is something I’m going to have to use to my advantage.”
