Williams demolished Clijsters beats up on Venus in final

The Province ^ | April 4, 2010 | The Province

[SmokingJoe]

Venus Williams was down a set, 0-2 and love-30, when the restless crowd on the stadium court tried to will her to play better with a rousing ovation that only delayed the inevitable.

Nothing would work for Williams. Not her creaky soon-to-be 30-year-old knees. Not her cockeyed ground strokes. Even her normally trusty 120-m. p.h. serve betrayed her over and over.

And classy foe Kim Clijsters wasn't in the charitable mood she was in during the semifinals, when she nervously let Belgian countrywoman Justine Henin back into a match she had been dominating.

Despite the pro-American crowd's futile attempt to wake up Williams, Clijsters kept on the offensive during a 17-point run early in the second set en route to a 6-2, 6-1, 58-minute massacre Saturday afternoon for her second Sony Ericsson Open title, the last coming in 2005.

"Sometimes you hit a few bad shots, it's not as easy to reel it in and things start to go a little quicker," said Williams, who has been stuck on three Miami titles since 2001.

"It happens to the best of us. . . . Unfortunately, I was my own worst enemy today."

At one point, legendary tennis scribe Bud Collins cracked, "Venus is really in the red," referring to her dance-hall dress and her mounting deficit.

It was the worst beating ever absorbed by Williams in any of her 69 career finals over the last 15 years. Clijsters, who earned $700,000 US and will move from No. 16 into the top 10, is 6-6 against Williams, including four-straight wins through the last five years.

The lopsided match reminded many of last year's women's final on Key Biscayne, in which Venus's sister Serena hobbled around the court during an equally listless 6-3, 6-1 loss to unheralded Victoria Azarenka.

[Mr. Lucky]

I feel so small.

[subterfuge]

who is the dude in the tutu?

[mlizzy]

I am glad both Henin and Clijsters are back. It makes women's tennis much more fun. Should be an interesting year.

Make that two of us. We watched the Henin/Clijsters semi and it's a shame either one of them had to lose. It was extremely exciting and I haven't a clear favorite between the two of them. I've never been partial to the Williams sisters, however, I've always wished that Serena took the game more seriously, because she would have demolished everyone. With a little humility, more push-aways and push-ups, I could have cheered for her, but instead, I was always cheering her opponent. And if it's found out sometime down the line that she is using steroids, I wouldn't be too surprised, just further disappointed. I hope it's not the case.

[STD]

all for the want of a comma

[SmokingJoe]

We watched the Henin/Clijsters semi and it's a shame either one of them had to lose.

My feelings exactly.

“It was extremely exciting and I haven't a clear favorite between the two of them. “

Well, over the years, I have gone back and forth between the two of them in terms of who I am backing. In terms of pure talent, I have to go with Henin. No one, but no one, has ever had an effective a backhand in women's tennis history like she has, at least not since I started watching women's tennis. Not Graf, not Seles, not Sanchez Vicario, not the Williams sisters, not anyone.
On the other hand, Clijsters is one of the best fighters in the business, goes for every short no matter how unreachable, and usually fights to the death. And she is the nicest and most like able female tennis player on the tennis circuit. Only Lindsay Davenport came close. It's really hard not to like Clijsters.
For Clijsters to come back from having a baby, and then win the US Open at her first try, after first beating an on form Serena in the semis, was just unbelievable. Couldn't happen to a nicer person.