Kim Clijsters Strikes Gold

Defending champion Kim Clijsters put on such a beautifully orchestrated display of all court tennis that even her accomplished opponent, Vera Zvonareva, was in awe. With Serena Williams in a holding pattern, the women’s tour needs talent to emerge from the flock and Clijsters has certainly done her part. Once again, the Belgian may be headed to the top, where the 27-year old mother definitely belongs.

Her thorough domination (6-2, 6-1) of a very much in-form Vera Zvonareva showcased the superior athletic and competitive edge the former number one still maintains. For her part, Zvonareva is having her most successful year on tour. She is no longer the sulky, temperamental and immature player that she was once.

Vera is a solid top five player who covers the court, has pinpoint accuracy with strikes groundstrokes that have purpose. Vera has played and seen plenty of tennis. What she saw on Saturday from Clijsters ranked as the best performance she has seen.

Vera Zvonareva

At 2-2 in the first set, Clijsters went on a tear, rolling off seven straight games so rapidly that Zvonareva did not have time to compose herself. The tale of the tape tells the whole story. Vera Zvonareva committed 24 unforced errors and hit just 6 outright winners. Kim committed 15 unforced errors but powered 17 clear winners.

The champion also converted 4 of 5 break opportunities while only allowing Vera two break chances, neither of which was converted. The biggest differential is in first serves won. Clijsters won 29 of 37 first serves or 78% compared to just 13 first serves won by Vera.

Clijsters earned her third U.S. Open title and extended her U.S. Open consecutive match winning streak to 21. Zvonareva had beaten Clijsters twice since the Belgian’s return to the tour.

More importantly, Kim pocketed $1.7 million for her victory and another $500,000 for her second place finish in the U.S. Open Series.

As at the end of last year’s Open, Kim Clijsters is a pleasant reminder of the way the game should be played. The two finalists went about their business with none of the gyrations, histrionics or annoying screeching that have taken over the women’s game. It may have been a lopsided final but two tennis players showed up, went after each other and played to win. On this day, Kim Clijsters was the superior player and is the Queen of New York.

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