US Open 2010: Kim Clijsters sets up Vera Zvonareva final
Defending champion Kim Clijsters will meet Russia’s Vera Zvonareva in Saturday night’s US Open final after coming from behind to beat Venus Williams in New York.
The Belgian 27-year-old, who triumphed in New York last year at what was only her third tournament after coming out of retirement, overcame the American 4-6 7-6 (7/2) 6-4 in two hours and 23 minutes on the Arthur Ashe court.
“I just tried to make the points and whenever I felt I had the opportunity to step up and accelerate a little bit, I tried to keep the pressure on her,” said Clijsters after sealing her 20th-straight victory at Flushing Meadows.
“It was a great match to play. The conditions weren’t easy but I think we played some high level tennis. It was a fun night.”
Clijsters will now face No7 seed Zvonareva after the Russian 26-year-old upset top seed Caroline Wozniacki to win 6-4 6-3 in under an hour-and-a-half.
“It was a tough match, Caroline was here in the finals last year and she’s a great player,” said Zvonareva, who reached the Wimbledon final in July. “It was very difficult for both of us with the wind but I think I was patient and aggressive like in the previous matches.
“It was a great experience for me at Wimbledon but I think it’s in the past, I’m trying to look forward at the moment and am just enjoying this day, my win today. I will think about the match later.”
Beaten Wozniacki acknowledged the Russian’s tenacious performance: “She played a really good game. She was not missing a lot. She was going for her shots, most things were going in. I had chances and I made some mistakes today that I usually don’t do.
“It was a tough day for me in the office,” continued the Dane. “That’s the way tennis is sometimes. I definitely was playing great tennis up to the tournament and in the tournament. Even today I had periods where I was playing really well.
“Of course I really don’t like losing, but I just need to learn from this. I made it to the semi-finals of the US Open and when I look back on this tournament I can be proud of what I’ve achieved.”
