Kim Clijsters Crashes out of J&S Cup in First Match
Posted by Aaress Lawless on May 3, 2007 | Print
| 
Former world number one Kim Clijsters booked herself almost a month of free time for wedding planning today when she was defeated at the J&S Cup in straight sets by Julia Vakulenko.
Vakulenko, who survived the qualifying rounds and reached the second round with a win over Elena Likhovtseva, knocked out the second seed 7-6 (3), 6-3.
Clijsters’ sentimental feelings for the Warsaw tournament was one of the main reasons why she entered this week’s Tier II tournament, especially as she announced two months ago her decision to skip Roland Garros.
With her clay court season officially behind her, Clijsters now has almost a month off the Tour before she starts her pursuit of a final Grand Slam title. She is next expected to play at Eastbourne, just before the Wimbledon Championships.
As easy as it might be to label Kim’s recent form as half-hearted and lackadaisical, her results this year do bear a closer inspection.
She won the title at Sydney, reached the semifinals at the Australian Open before losing to Maria Sharapova, lost the final at Antwerp to a diamond-racquet seeking Amelie Mauresmo, and then was defeated in the fourth round of the Sony Ericsson Open by Na Li.
Even though she is playing a slim-downed schedule, she still has played more tournaments this year than Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams.
All in all, that’s not bad results for someone playing her farewell tour.
If you enjoyed this tennis article, please sign up for a free subscription!
Alsacienne | May 3, 2007 | Reply
True, her results might not be bad, but I am still quite disappointed by her half-schedule. Either she competes or she retires!
Will.I.Am | May 3, 2007 | Reply
Good point Alcacienne. Not too mention that Serena and Maria are both suffering from injuries.