Clijsters Catches Up To Mattek-Sands

In Montreal’s Rogers Cup, the women have moved to the round of sixteen where some intriguing matches will tell us who is ready for the U.S. Open and who has some work to do. We already know that top seed Jelena Jankovic was upset by Iveta Benesova and 3 seed Samantha Stosur is out due to injury but a win in Montreal could have U.S. Open repercussions and the surviving 32 players would love to stake a claim in Canada.

Kim Clijsters, the only WTA member to win three tournaments this year is stalking her fourth title. Wednesday, Clijsters had her back against the wall with qualifier Bethanie Mattek-Sands. Trailing 4-6, 1-4, Clijsters looked to be on the way out before she staged a furious rally that did not stop until the last point in her 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory. Clijsters, who was placed in Stosur’s position in the draw will next play the unpredictable Kaia Kanepi who advanced at the expense of Sybille Bammer 7-5, 6-2.

Marion Bartoli, who advanced by way of a walkover when Kimiko Date Krumm strained her left quad, will face Jankovic’s conquereress, Czech Iveta Bensova. Meanwhile second and fourth seeds Caroline Wozniacki and Elena Dementieva moved on handily. Wozniacki edged past Patty Schnyder 7-5, 7-5 while Elena cruised past Klara Zakopalova 6-2, 6-4.

Today, Caroline will face French Open Champion Flavia Pennetta who had a stylish 6-3, 6-3 win over Alisa Kleybanova and Elena will play China’s Zheng Jie who upset 16th seed Aravane Rezai in the last match of the day 5-7, 7-6 (6), 6-1.

Dinara Safina played her best match of the year and ousted fellow Russian Nadia Petrova 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 in a hard-hitting match between two proven WTA players. Former number one, Safina will next challenge Italy’s Francesca Schiavone who toppled yet another Russian Ekaterina Makarova 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2. Safina is currently ranked 7th on the tour.

One of Thursday’s most intriguing matches will pit streaky Victoria Azarenka, an impressive winner over Maria Kirilenko 6-4,6-1, against China’s top player Li Na. Azarenka has one of the tour’s biggest games and Li has one of the tour’s most consistent games.
Another featured match will have last week’s runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska against former U.S. Open champ Svetlana Kuznetsova. The level of Svetlana’s play has improved sharply in recent weeks and Radwanska is in top form.

Hustling Agnes Szavay defeated 13th seed Belgian Yanina Wickmayer 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4. Yanina is having difficulty clearing the second round of late. For her efforts, Szavay will face one of Russia’s hottest players and Wimbledon runner-up Vera Zvonareva.

Similar Posts

Clijsters – Henin – Belgian Blast # 24

Kim Clijsters Up To Speed

Sharapova and Ivanovic join Clijsters and Wickmayer