Kim Clijsters Is Recognized For Her Deep- powerful- Well-placed -Groundstrokes and Her Backhand Is More Reliable Consistent-
The 13th-seeded Czech had breezed past new world number one Clijsters in straight sets Sunday for her third WTA career title.
But the trip to the Gulf region left her looking tired and jaded and she lost in two tie-break sets 7-6 7-6 to Ayumi Morita, a Japanese qualifier.
Slovak Daniela Hantuchova, who claimed the Pattaya Open title in Thailand Sunday, also fell at the first hurdle.
She lost to Russian Anna Chakevetadze, who eased through 6-1 6-3 to earn a second round meeting with top seed Caroline Wozniacki.
Grand Slam finals-
Singles: 8 finals (4 titles, 4 runner-ups):
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score in the final |
| Runner-up | 2001 | French Open | Clay |  Jennifer Capriati | 1–6, 6–4, 12–10 |
| Runner-up | 2003 | French Open (2) | Clay |  Justine Henin | 6–0, 6–4 |
| Runner-up | 2003 | US Open | Hard | Justine Henin | 7–5, 6–1 |
| Runner-up | 2004 | Australian Open | Hard | Justine Henin | 6–3, 4–6, 6–3 |
| Winner | 2005 | US Open | Hard |  Mary Pierce | 6–3, 6–1 |
| Winner | 2009 | US Open (2) | Hard |  Caroline Wozniacki | 7–5, 6–3 |
| Winner | 2010 | US Open (3) | Hard |  Vera Zvonareva | 6–2, 6–1 |
| Winner | 2011 | Australian Open | Hard |  Li Na | 3–6, 6–3, 6–3 |
Kim Clijsters of Belgium climbed to the top of the WTA women's tennis rankings released on Monday, dislodging Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark.
The Australian Open winner was assured of top spot after a quarterfinal win Friday at the Paris Indoor event.
She reached the final of the Paris event, only to lose to Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-3.
Clijsters, a four-time Grand Slam winner, has 8 835 points, with Wozniacki on 8 655 and Vera Zvonareva of Russia on 7 255.
Clijsters topped the rankings in 2003 and again in 2006. She quit the game in 2007 to have a child and then returned to win 2009 and 2010 US Opens and the Australian title on January 29.
She has outnumbered Kim Clijsters as she regained World No. 1 ranking in the WTA ranking list on Monday. The top seed of Denmark is now also celebrating the 13th title of her career after winning the DubaiRussia. Open Sunday as she outplayed Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters (Dutch pronunciation: [kɪm ˈklɛistərs] - born 8 June 1983) is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 21 February 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 2 in singles and is a former World No. 1 in doubles. She shares the record for most Grand Slam singles titles won as a mother with Margaret Court.
Clijsters is the reigning singles champion at the US Open and the Australian Open. She has also won 41 WTA singles titles and 11 WTA doubles titles. She has won four Grand Slam singles titles: three at the US Open, in 2005, 2009 and 2010 and one at the Australian Open in 2011. She has also been runner-up in four Grand Slam singles tournaments, and won the WTA Tour Championships singles title in 2002, 2003 and 2010. In doubles, she won the French Open and Wimbledon titles in 2003. Clijsters announced her retirement with immediate effect on 6 May 2007, but almost two years later, on 26 March 2009, she publicly declared her intent to return to the WTA tour for the 2009 summer hard court season. In only her third tournament back, she won her second US Open title, becoming the first unseeded player and wildcard to win the tournament, and the first mother to win a major since Evonne Goolagong in 1980.
Tennis career-
Clijsters started her season at the Adidas International, where she won her first tournament of the year defeating Lindsey Davenport in straight sets in the final. Clijsters reached the final after defeating Patty Schnyder, Chanda Rubin and Justine Henin. At the Australian Open, Clijsters lost in the semi-final to Serena Williams 4–6, 6–3, 7–5 after holding 5 match points. On the way to the semis Clijsters lost just fifteen games beating Samantha Reeves and completing a double bagel (wherein the opposing player fails to win a single game) against Petra Mandula. Then continuing to win in straight sets against Tatiana Poutchek, Amanda Coetzer and Anastasia Myskina. and at the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, where she defeated Lindsay Davenport in the final.
Clijsters in 2003
Clijsters reached the final of the WTA German Open after defeating Jennifer Capriati 6–4 in the final set. In the final she played Justine Henin and squandered three match points as Clijsters lost the final set 7–5. To compound the day Clijsters also lost the doubles final 6–4 in the final set.
Clijsters’ third title of the year came at the Telecom Italia Masters in Rome, where she defeated Amélie Mauresmo in the final, white washing the Frenchwoman in the final set. After Clijsters had defeated Myskina and doubles partner Ai Sugiyama to make the final.
At the French Open Clijsters’ reached the final for the second year running after defeating Nadia Petrova. In the final Clijsters lost 6–0, 6–4 to Henin at the US open, 7–5, 6–1. She also lost in the semi-final at Wimbledon to Venus Williams after leading by a set and a break. On 11 August 2003, Clijsters attained the World No. 1 ranking, holding the spot for 12 non-consecutive weeks during the remainder of the year, and was the first player to be top ranked by the WTA without first winning a Grand Slam singles title.
2006-
Clijsters in 2006
Clijsters started the year by winning an exhibition tournament, the Watson Water Challenge, in Hong Kong. On her way to the title she defeated Jie Zheng, Elena Dementieva, and top ranked Lindsay Davenport. Clijsters then withdrew from her semi-final match at the WTA tournament in Sydney, citing a left hip muscle strain.
At the Australian Open, Clijsters defeated former champion Martina Hingis in the quarter-finals 6–3, 2–6, 6–4 before retiring from her semi-final match with Amélie Mauresmo. Despite the loss, the ranking points she accumulated were enough to regain the World No. 1 ranking, a position she last held on 9 November 2003. She was the first tennis player, male or female, to rise from outside the Top 100 (World No. 134) to World No. 1 in less than a year. Clijsters' loss to Mauresmo in the Australian Open semi-final was due to an ankle injury. Although she had been expected to miss at least eight weeks to recover, Clijsters returned two weeks later at the Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp. She lost the final of that tournament to Mauresmo in three sets.
Clijsters won her first title of the year at a clay court event in Warsaw, defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final. At the French Open in May, Clijsters reached the semi-final without losing a set, defeating Hingis in the quarter-finals 7–6, 6–1. However, she lost to Justine Henin in the semi-final 6–3, 6–2 on her 23rd birthday. She was seeded second going into Wimbledon but was again eliminated in the semi-final by Henin, also in straight sets, 6–4, 7–6(4).
Clijsters at 2006 Wimbledon
Clijsters collected her second title of the year as the top seed in Stanford, defeating Patty Schnyder in the final. Clijsters then reached the final in San Diego, falling to second-seeded Maria Sharapova in straight sets. This was her first loss to Sharapova in five career meetings.
On 16 August, after receiving a first round bye at the Tier I Rogers Cup in Montreal, Clijsters faced Canadian Stéphanie Dubois in the second round. Having won the first set 6–1 and trailing 2–3 in the second set, Clijsters slipped and fell on her left wrist and was forced to retire from the match. On 18 August 2006, Clijsters announced on her official website that the condition of her wrist was worse than she had expected and that she would be unable to defend her title at the US Open. She also missed the Fed Cup final against Italy, which Italy won 3–2.
Playing in Paris at the Gaz de France Stars tournament, her first event in more than two months, Clijsters successfully defended her title by beating qualifier Kaia Kanepi in the final. At the year-ending WTA Tour Championships, Clijsters lost a semi-final to Mauresmo 6–2, 3–6, 6–3 after defeating Dementieva and Kuznetsova and losing to Sharapova in the round robin phase of the tournament.
2007: Retirement-
2007 was to be Clijsters’ final year on tour as she had planned in 2005 to retire at the end of the 2007 season. Clijsters started the year by winning an exhibition tournament, the Watson Water Challenge, in Hong Kong. On her way to the title, she defeated Jie Zheng, Patty Schnyder, and top ranked Maria Sharapova. Clijsters then won the Medibank International in Sydney, Australia, defeating Nicole Pratt, Shahar Peer, Li Na and Jelena Janković to claim the title after being match point down in the final.
Clijsters at the 2007 J&S Cup
At the Australian Open Clijsters was the fourth seed. The Belgian started by giving a double bagal to Vasilisa Bardina before going on to defeat Akiko Morigami, Alona Bondarenkoand Daniela Hantuchová in straight sets. Clijsters then defeated sixth seed Martina Hingis in three sets before losing to Sharapova in the semi-finals.
Clijsters next played in Belgium for the final time at the Proximus Diamond Games after pulling out of the Open Gaz de France with a hip injury. When Clijsters said that she was fit she hinted that she may miss the French Open. Clijsters reached the final of the Diamond Games losing to Amélie Mauresmo. Defeating Olga Poutchkova, Ana Ivanović and Tatiana Golovin while on the way to the final without dropping a set.
After this event Clijsters confirmed that she would miss the French Open and US Open, making Wimbledon her last Grand Slam event. The Belgian also added that her last two tournaments would be in Luxembourg and at the WTA Tour Championships in Stuttgart.
At the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, Clijsters lost in the fourth round to Li Na in three sets. and Sam Stosur. A month later in her first clay tournament of the year, at Warsaw Clijsters failed to defend her title when she lost to Julia Vakulenko 7–6(3), 6–3. After beating Akiko Morigami
On 6 May 2007, citing injuries, Clijsters announced on her official website that she was cutting short her season and bringing forward her plans to retire from professional tennis. Clijsters decided to retire immediately from the sport.
Following Cincinnati Clijsters played at the Rogers Cup in Toronto on another wildcard. She defeated British qualifier Elena Baltacha in the first round. In the second round, she defeated World No. 9 Victoria Azarenka 7–5, 4–6, 6–1 but lost to World No. 4 Jelena Janković in the third round 1–6, 6–3, 7–5, after serving for the match at 5–3.
Clijsters at the 2009 US Open
She then received a wildcard to play in the main draw of the US Open. She easily won her first round match over Viktoriya Kutuzova 6–1, 6–1. She won her second round match, defeating World No. 14 Marion Bartoli for the second time in three weeks 5–7, 6–1, 6–2. She then defeated compatriot Kirsten Flipkens 6–0, 6–2 in the third round. She went on to upset World No. 3 Venus Williams in the fourth round 6–0, 0–6, 6–4. This was only Clijsters' 11th competitive match since coming out of retirement. Clijsters beat 18th seed Li Na in straight sets 6–2, 6–4 to reach the semi-finals where she faced defending champion and World No. 2 Serena Williams, winning 6–4, 7–5 after Williams was given a point penalty on match point after a dispute with an official over a foot fault call.
Clijsters became the first unseeded finalist at the US Open since Venus Williams in 1997, and the first wildcard to ever reach the US Open final. With her victory over Serena, Clijsters became the only player to have beaten both Williams sisters in the same tournament twice. In the final she defeated ninth seed Caroline Wozniacki 7–5, 6–3 to win her second US Open title. Her US Open victory placed her in the top 20 in the world rankings. She also became the first Wild Card champion in US Open history and the first mother to win a Grand Slam title in the Open era since Evonne Goolagong Cawley won Wimbledon in 1980. Clijsters is popularly known as one of the "comeback queens" of tennis. Clijsters then received a wildcard to play at the 2009 BGL Luxembourg Open in Luxembourg, as the second seed. She eased through her opening match 6–2, 6–2 against Meghann Shaughnessy but fell to Patty Schnyder in a close second round encounter 4–6, 6–3, 6–7.
Playing an exhibition match in Antwerp, Belgium on December 10, Clijsters defeated rival Venus Williams 6–1, 7–5. She finished the year ranked 18th.
In March 2010, Clijsters won her first Laureus World Sports Award, for her remarkable 2009 US Open comeback. She also won the WTA Comeback Player of the Year and the Karen Krantzcke Sportsmanship Award for the seventh time.
2010-
Clijsters started her 2010 campaign at the Brisbane International in Australia as the top seed. She defeated Tathiana Garbin and Alicia Molik in the first two rounds without dropping a set. She then defeated Lucie Šafářová in three sets to advance to the semifinals where she defeated Andrea Petkovic to set up a final with her rival and compatriot Justine Henin. Clijsters led 6–3, 4–1 before Henin to win eight consecutive games to take the second set and lead 3–0 in the final set. Clijsters trailed 5–3 saved two match points before breaking back and forcing a final set tie break defeating her rival 6–3, 4–6, 7–6(6).
Clijsters and Caroline Wozniacki at an official function
Clijsters' next tournament was the 2010 Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the season where she was seeded 15h. Clijsters advanced to the third round with straight sets wins over Valérie Tétreault and Tamarine Tanasugarn. In the third round Clijsters lost to the World No. 20 Nadia Petrova winning just one game in the worst defeat of her career.
Clijsters did not play competitively again until March at the 2010 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. She was seeded 14th but she fell to the 23rd seed Alisa Kleybanova in the third round losing a final set tie break. and Shahar Pe'er. Clijsters then defeated the defending champion Victoria Azarenka for the loss of just four games. Before defeating the World No. 10 Samantha Stosur in the quarter-finals and Justine Henin in a final set tie break to reach the final. Clijsters went on to beat Venus Williams in straight sets in the final, ending the American’s fifteen match unbeaten streak. As a result of winning the title for the second time, Clijsters' ranking rose to World No. 10. Clijsters found form at the 2010 Sony Ericsson Open as she went on to win the title. As the 14th seed, she only dropped three games while defeating Petra Kvitová
2011-
Clijsters' first competitive outing of the year was the Medibank International Sydney in Australia. In the first round, Clijsters defeated Alexandra Dulgheru in two sets, 6–1, 6–2. She then defeated Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová, Victoria Azarenka and Alisa Kleybanova to advanced to the final where she was defeated by World No. 11 Li Na from China, 7–6(3), 6–3, despite leading 5–0 in the first set.
Clijsters in Paris, 2011
Clijsters started her strong campaign at the 2011 Australian Open at Melbourne Park as the tournament's favorite with an emphatic 6–0, 6–0 victory over former World No. 1 Dinara Safina in the first round. This was the first time in tennis' open era that a former World No. 1 player received a double bagel loss in a grand slam tournament. Clijsters then defeated Carla Suárez Navarro 6–1, 6–3 and Alizé Cornet 7–6(3), 6–3, before winning a fourth-round match against Russia's Ekaterina Makarova 7–6(3), 6–2. In the quarterfinals, Clijsters continued her progress without dropping a set by beating the twelfth seed Agnieszka Radwańska 6–3, 7–6(4). She comfortably defeated World No. 2 Vera Zvonareva 6–3, 6–3, guaranteeing her accession to World No. 2, her highest ranking since her return to the tour. Clijsters won the 2011 Australian Open singles by beating Li Na 3–6, 6–3, 6–3; It was her first major win outside the US and her fourth overall. Clearly emotional, Clijsters declared that she finally had earned the title "Aussie Kim".
Clijsters next traveled to play at the indoor tournament in Paris. After defeating Jelena Dokić in the quarterfinals, Clijsters returned to the top of the WTA rankings for the first time in almost five years, overtaking Caroline Wozniacki. Clijsters eventually progressed to the final of the competition, but was beaten by third seed Petra Kvitová in straight sets, 6–4, 6–3.
Tennis betting sources saw that in 2008, Henin initially retired from the sport, becoming disappointed by life on the women’s tour, but in 2010 she came back to action.
When she slipped during a fourth-round clash at Wimbledon against compatriot Kim Clijsters, the right elbow of the world’s former number one suffered a partial ligament fracture, and many fans that followed her tennis scores have been shocked when they heard about this.
In October, she came back, looking to start the 2011 campaign in top form, only to feel a return of pain to her elbow when the Australian Open was taking place.
“I’ve had to deal with a lot of injuries throughout my career but this time, at 29, I just can’t go on,” she said.
KIM CLIJSTERS is wearing a green retro outfit to honour the maternal tennis deeds of Australian great Evonne Goolagong Cawley, and with her third grand slam title since returning 17 months ago from the birth of her daughter, the Belgian has become the most successful mother in the game with her success over Li Na in the Australian Open final last night.
Clijsters does not intend to play on past next year's London Olympics, and so is determined to make the most of what time is left. Last night against Chinese trailblazer Li, the third seed won 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in a little more than two hours to claim her fourth major championship from eight finals, and the first from her two - seven years apart - at Melbourne Park.
With the losses of Justine Henin and then Maria Sharapova, the tournament was guaranteed a new champion, and to Clijsters goes the cheque for a record $2.2 million and the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup.
''I finally feel like you guys can call me 'Aussie Kim' because I won the title,'' the popular winner said in her victory speech. ''To the fans, thank you so much, not just here in Melbourne. I've been coming to Australia for many years, and you guys have been amazing.
''Even when things weren't going so well, you guys have been supportive … it helped me keep fighting and get the title today.''
From Wikipedia-
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