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Kim Clijsters
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Posted: 12 March 2005 0852 hrs
Tennis: Clijsters reaches third round at Indian Wells
INDIAN WELLS, California : Kim Clijsters advanced to the third round of the
Indian Wells WTA and ATP Masters Series tournament on Friday, hammering 22
winners and three aces to beat Shinobu Asagoe 6-3, 6-3.
The 21-year-old Belgian and former world number one needed just 71 minutes
to dispatch Japan’s Asagoe and raise her 2005 record to 5-1.
“It is a nice start for me,” Clijsters said. “I had to make sure I kept the
pressure on and stayed aggressive.”
This is Clijsters’s sixth consecutive appearance here, where she has fond
memories after winning the singles title in 2003.
But Clijsters is unseeded this year because she missed most of 2004 with a
wrist injury. She pulled out of Indian Wells last year with the same injury
and had surgery three months later.
Clijsters still managed to win tournaments last year in Antwerp and Paris.
“This is my first tournament overseas in about a year. I thought it was
going to be tougher to win matches here, especially because I had to get
used to playing outdoors again,” Clijsters said.
“In Belgium I have mostly been working out indoors, but I am feeling well
and so I think it was a good decision to come here a week early.”
This is just her second tournament of 2005 and although she is into the
third round she is still struggling at times with her serve.
Against Asagoe, she had four double faults and connected on 44 percent of
her first serves.
But she delivered more winners (22-7) and won more total points (71-49) than
her Japanese opponent.
“I need to work on that first serve. It has to get better because it isn’t
going to take me far against the better players,” Clijsters said.
In other women’s second round matches on Friday, young Russian Maria
Kirilenko posted the first upset of the tournament, beating eighth-seeded
compatriot Elena Bovina 6-3, 6-1.
Second seed Amelie Mauresmo of France cruised past Tathiana Garbin 6-2, 6-1,
reigning US Open champ Svetlana Kuznetsova dominated Czech Eva Birnerova
6-3, 6-2 and Russian fourth seed Elena Dementieva defeated American Abigail
Spears 6-2, 7-6 (7/5).
The 96-player men’s event got underway with France’s Gael Monfils making his
US debut a successful one, defeating American Jeff Morrison 7-5, 6-4.
Juan Carlos Ferrero set up a second round match with another former Spanish
number one by beating Russia’s Igor Andreev 6-3, 6-3.
Ferrero next faces Carlos Moya. The Spanish duo were teammates on Spain’s
winning Davis Cup team in 2004. Moya became number one in the world when he
reached the finals here five years ago.
Sweden’s Thomas Enqvist beat Karol Beck 6-0, 7-5 and Armenian Sargis
Sargsian stopped Bobby Reynolds of the United States 6-3, 6-2. – AFP
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