Clijsters Stayed on Course

US Open '10 Update

Clijsters hitting a backhand by
Philip Hall

Petra Kvitova, who reached the fourth round last year started very strong against Clijsters. She confidently unleashed her ground strokes producing winners after winners and broke Clijsters twice to jump to a 3-0 lead. For one moment, she looked to continue her amazing run she started last year.

However, as Clijsters settled down, tried to minimize her errors and captured six straight games to win the first set 6-3. And from there she never looked back. Clijsters reeled off a dozen games in a row and turning the debut of Kvitova on Ashe -- which had begun so promisingly -- into a forgettable blip, 6-3, 6-0.

Petra Kvitova by Getty Images

Prior to the US Open Kvitova, a lefty from Czech Republic also reached the Semi-finals of Wimbledon this year, despite never having previously played a match on grass.

"My serve has been causing me some problems in the last few weeks but, once I came back from 3-0 down, I was able to be more aggressive," Clijsters said during an on-court interview.

With a win Clijsters is gifted with a potential mouth watering encounter with Ana Ivanovic who recently discovered her winning form that lead her to win her lone grand slam crown, the French Open.

See related story: http://www.usopen.org/en_US/news/match_reports/2010-09-03/201009031283537883592.html