Kim Clijsters marches on, Ana Ivanovic's slump gains momentum

Kim Clijsters at the Western & Southern Financial Group WomenPlaying only her second competitive match in more than two years, wildcard Kim Clijsters beat world No.20 Patty Schnyder 6-2 7-5 to reach the third round of the Western and Southern Financial Group Women's Open.

Don't forget that Clijsters started her comeback with a win over world No.13 Marion Bartoli!

The Belgian’s opponent in the third round will be sixth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia.

Seed No.11 Ana Ivanovic suffered an upset to world No.59 Melinda Czink, despite leading by a break in both sets. Ivanovic committed 11 double faults and lost this second-round match 7-6 7-5.

And only two days ago did I read that Ivanovic had found a cure for her troubled serve!(photo: Life.com)

Kim Clijsters upsets Marion Bartoli in Cincinnati for a stunning return to tennis

Kim Clijsters after beating Mariona Bartoli at the Western & Southern Financial Group WomenFormer world number one Kim Clijsters couldn't have marked her comeback to tennis better – the mother of a year-and-a-half old girl upset world No.13 Marion Bartoli 6-4 6-3 in the first round of the Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open in Cincinnati.

"To have won my first match feels really good," said Clijsters, 26, who hadn't played competitively for two years. "I surprised myself a little with the way I started and then I kept fighting and trying to stay focused. I felt good out there."

Clijsters lost just five points on her way to a 4-0 lead in the first set. Bartoli then levelled before the Belgian took two more successive games to win the opening set. In the second set, Clijsters had saved two break points in the third game, before breaking Bartoli's serve in the following game for a 3-1 lead. Clijsters then held her nerve to defeat Bartoli, the titlist at this month's Bank of the West Classic, and advance to the second round where she'll face Patty Schnyder.

Additional info: Eleventh seed Ana Ivanovic recovered from losing the first set to beat world No.61 Melanie Oudin (the famous eliminator of Jelena Jankovic at this year's Wimbledon) 2-6 6-1 6-1 and reach the second round, while ninth seed Victoria Azarenka beat Kaia Kanepi 6-3 7-6(2). (photo via Life.com)

Kim Clijsters and Elena Dementieva playing "Fountain Tennis"

Kim Clijsters and Elena Dementieva playing

As announced a few days ago, tennis has again found a completely new place to be played on – Kim Clijsters and Elena Dementieva played a match in the middle of a fountain.

A special tennis court was located in an extraordinary place – inside a fountain set against the "Eiffel Tower" at the Kings Island entrance.

Kim Clijsters and Elena Dementieva playing Former world number one Kim Clijsters commented on the new experience:

I never thought that my comeback would start with a match in the middle of a fountain! I couldn’t be happier playing a tennis match with Elena in the fountains of Kings Island and sharing my excitement of being back on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour with the tennis fans of Ohio at the Western & Southern Financial Group event.

Previous innovative Sony Ericsson stunts included playing tennis on water, on car rooftops in Miami, in a metro station in Madrid, on a desert island, and on the terrace of Villa Miani in Rome. And yet again, I have no idea what innovative location could be next. (source: On the Baseline)

Elena Dementieva, Kim Clijsters to play match in Kings Island fountains

Kim ClijstersElena DementievaWorld number four Elena Dementieva and former top-ranked player Kim Clijsters will play a tennis match Saturday, August 8, in the large water fountains at Kings Island.

"The specially made court will be placed on top of one of the middle fountains which will be turned off so the court can go on top of it," said Kings Island spokesman Don Helbig.

"But the water will be spraying up from the sides around it and behind it down the middle as you go from the front of the fountains to the tower."

Clijsters is making her return to competitive tennis at the Western & Southern Financial Grp Women’s Open which starts August 10. (source: Oxford Press via On the Baseline, photos: Mister-E)

A Centre Court Celebration: Clijsters beats Graf under new Wimbledon retractable roof

A Centre Court Celebration at Wimbledon – Kim Clijsters, Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi, Tim Henman

Retired former world No.1s Kim Clijsters and Steffi Graf played exhibition matches together with ATP stars Andre Agassi and Tim Henman to officially celebrate the new retractable roof over Wimbledon's Centre Court. The event was called A Centre Court Celebration and the new roof was today used for the first time.

Clijsters, who retired in May 2007 but is expected to return to the sport competitively in August, beat Graf in singles 6-4. Graf is not contemplating a comeback, but she said she loved being back on Centre Court ten years after her last visit.

In doubles, Tim Henman and Kim Clijsters defeated the husband and wife duo 7-6. In men’s singles, Agassi beat Henman 6-4.

Additional info: The much-needed roof takes between eight and nine minutes to close. (source: Wimbledon)


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