HARD-hitting Belgian Kim Clijsters dealt Ana Ivanovic another psychological blow with a come from behind victory at the Brisbane International.
Clijsters fought back from 0-3 down in the final set to defeat Ivanovic 6-1 1-6 6-3 in the second round clash.
She has now won all five matches against Ivanovic and it's the second straight encounter in which Ivanovic has blown a third-set lead to last year's Australian Open champion.
Ivanovic held an early service break in the last set before capitulating. It was in complete contrast to the previous 30 minutes the No. 22-ranked Serb fought back from losing the first set in 21 minutes to rattle off nine of the next 10 games.
Yet the match was turned on its head when Clijsters finally found touch and left Ivanovic flat-footed and the crowd stunned.
Clijsters' hot and cold form was there to see in the statistics with 30 unforced errors and 23 winners.
She delivered just two aces.
But after a half-year break because of an abdominal injury, Clijsters felt she was progressing well in her bid to defend her Australian Open title.
"I haven't played for over six months so it's going to take time and I'm glad I was able to turn it around in this match and that is a positive," Clijsters said.
"I will take it away from this match. Six months of rehab and then practice, practice, practice is too long for me.
"I'm just excited to play a match."
Clijsters will now meet either US Open champion Sam Stosur or Czech Iveta Benesova in a quarter-final.
A confrontation with Stosur would be the perfect build-up for both of the grand slam title winners ahead of the Australian Open.
So far so good. Looking forward to the quarter final!.
No comments:
Post a Comment