Clijsters is first mum to win in 30 years
KIM Clijsters crowned her return to tennis by winning the US Open a month after coming out of retirement.
Clijsters, 26 and playing on a wild card invitation, defeated ninth seeded teenager Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 7-5 6-3 at Arthur Ashe Stadium in just the 14th match and third tournament since coming out of a 27-month retirement during which she became a mother for the first time.
Eighteen-month-old daughter Jada was in the stadium to see Clijsters become the first mother to win a grand slam since Evonne Goolagong Cawley beat Chris Evert to win Wimbledon in 1980.
We tried to plan her naptime a little bit later in the day so she could be here
Overwhelmed by her win she said: “This has been so exciting for me.
“This was not really our plan. I just wanted to start three tournaments just to get back into the rhythm of playing tennis and get used to the surroundings.
Clijsters was returning to Ashe less than 24 hours after beating Serena Williams following the defending champion’s now infamous verbal abuse of a line judge, the subsequent point penalty handing the wild card the match.
The Belgian was quickly into her stride again in the final, breaking Wozniacki in the second game to jump out into a 2-0 lead.
The third game saw a break point for Wozniacki saved with a Clijsters forehand winner. The Belgian gave her Danish rival another though after spraying a forehand wide and it was the forehand again, this time cross-court, that gave Wozniacki the break back.
There was a strong breeze swirling around Ashe but Wozniacki was dealing with it best, gathering momentum to win the next three games and go 4-2 up.
Clijsters steadied the ship with an important hold in the next game having saved more break points.
A double fault handed Clijsters the break of serve to level the set up at 4-4 and the Belgian stormed into a 40-0 lead, only for Wozniacki to fight back and win the game, allowing the ninth seed to serve for the set.
Again the pendulum swung, this time in favour of Clijsters, who took the next two games and left Wozniacki now needing to serve to stay in the set.
The nerves appeared to creeping in for the teenager in her first grand slam final as she fell behind 0-40, Clijsters giving a fist pump with each point and she took a fourth in a row to take the first set.
The second set saw Wozniacki hang in there with Clijsters over the opening games, neither player earning a break point in the first five games.
When one came, it was for Clijsters and she took to go 4-2 up, taking the next game to move to within one game of victory.
Wozniacki served to stay in the match and was dragged into a scrap before winning the game from deuce.