Tennis

Serena cruises by Clijsters into final

Williams starts slow, wears down opponent to remain unbeaten.

By KEITH NIEBUHR, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 28, 2003

KEY BISCAYNE -- Revenge only goes so far against Serena Williams.

Two months after a third-set meltdown against Williams in the semifinals of the Australian Open, third-ranked Kim Clijsters hoped to make amends, but instead added another disappointing result against the world's top-ranked player, who kept alive her hopes of a perfect season. Williams won easily 6-4, 6-2 to reach her second straight Nasdaq-100 Open final.

"I started off playing well," Clijsters said. "But at the end of the first set, after a few rallies, I felt physically and mentally empty."

Williams looked anything but fatigued.

After a slow start, she broke things open late in the first set. With the set tied at 4, Williams won six straight games and cruised from there. She committed 37 unforced errors, but managed to keep Clijsters on the run most of the match.

"I think I struggled a bit today with my form," Williams said. "My trainer said she thought I played good, but you know, I'm always really tough on myself. ... My serve wasn't there at all. My returns were miserable. It wasn't as easy as it seemed. It definitely was a grueling match."

Williams faces the winner of today's match between Jennifer Capriati of Saddlebrook and Chanda Rubin in Saturday's final. Capriati and Rubin were supposed to play Thursday, but the match was postponed by heavy rain.

On the men's side, the Albert Costa-Roger Federer match was suspended with Costa leading 6-5 in the third. Federer, who lost to Andre Agassi in last year's final at Key Biscayne, had two match points in the third but could not hold serve. He lost the first set 7-6, but rebounded to win the second 6-4.

The other remaining quarterfinal, between Agassi and Younes El Aynaoui, never started.

Both matches are scheduled to be played today.

Williams improved to 16-0 this season and 7-1 lifetime against Clijsters. Clijsters defeated Williams in straight sets at last year's season-ending Tour Championship in Los Angeles, but Williams has not lost since. In January she overcame a 5-1 third-set deficit to defeat a stunned Clijsters in Melbourne.

Clijsters had been the more impressive of the two in reaching the semifinals. She beat three seeded players in the opening rounds, including No. 9 Jelena Dokic, all in under an hour.

The 19-year-old Belgian pushed Williams early, taking a 2-1 lead, then tying the set at 4. But after Williams limited her unforced errors, Clijsters wilted. Clijsters said she was fatigued from playing a heavy schedule and that she would take four or five weeks off after the event.

"I think she was still playing hard and still playing tough," Williams said. "She has played a lot of tournaments, so it's hard to keep winning. I don't think she was tired. I just think it was a tough match. I picked up my game, I think, a little bit. That's what happened."

Clijsters had almost as many unforced errors as Williams (28), doubled-faulted four times, had no aces, was 2-of-9 on break points and hit six winners to Williams' 22. She lost serve five times.

"Serena played aggressively and well," Clijsters said. "She played really consistent throughout the whole match."

Williams has won four straight Grand Slam singles titles, a feat she dubbed the Serena Slam. She won at Key Biscayne last season by defeating Martina Hingis, sister Venus and Jennifer Capriati, then the world's No. 1 player, in succession. She is 60-4 since that title, with championships this year at the Australian Open and Paris Indoors, prompting one reporter to ask if she has forgotten what it is like to lose.

"Not at all," Williams said. "Sometimes you definitely have to have a loss to put you back in perspective. When I lost in Los Angeles (to Clijsters), I was like, 'Okay.' I didn't like that feeling."

SARASOTA CLAY COURT CLASSIC: Martina Navratilova and Anastasia Myskina have committed to play in the Monday-April 6 event at the Meadows Country Club. They join a field that includes eight top 25 players and three major champions.

The 46-year-old Navratilova, winner of 18 Grand Slam singles, 31 doubles and eight mixed doubles titles, will play doubles with Liezel Huber.

Myskina is ranked 11th.

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