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Men's Tennis
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Women's Tennis
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| Friday, March 16 |
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| Clijsters tops Hingis in three sets ESPN.com wire services | |||
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- Young Belgian Kim Clijsters outmaneuvered world No. 1 Martina Hingis of Switzerland to score a 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 upset Thursday in
the semifinals of the Indian Wells Tennis Masters Series.
"This is probably my greatest tournament, my greatest
victory," said the 17-year-old Clijsters, who ripped 21 winners
(13 from her forehand side) to only 10 from Hingis.
Hingis, considered by many to be the tour's smartest players, said she wore a dunce cap on court.
"I didn't play smart strategically," Hingis said.
"Mentally I was a little bit tired. I just couldn't figure
out what to do. It was the main reason I didn't know how to win
points. The longer the rallies got, the less I had a clue,
which is usually not the case."
Despite having lost her first three encounters with Hingis, Clijsters came out with a tremendous amount of confidence, winning the vast majority of their end-to-end baseline rallies with hard, flat groundstrokes.
"I've been closer and closer and closer every time I've played her," said Clijsters, who will meet Serena Williams, who advanced after sister Venus defaulted, in Saturday's final (7:30 p.m. ET ESPN).
"I can beat those (top) players. I know that Martina didn't
play her best, but those are the chances I have to take."
Hingis changed tactics in the second set, mixing in a
handful of slice backhands and playing 19th-ranked Clijsters
more to the forehand side, rather than allowing the 17-year-old
to control the center of the court with her inside-out
forehand.
Clijsters experienced a letdown in the second set,
committing numerous unforced errors and losing the rhythm on
her serve.
But Clijsters regained her focus in the third set and began to rip winners from every position on the court, breaking Hingis to open the set when Hingis decided to serve-and-volley on break point and Clijsters blasted a backhand return low that she couldn't handle.
Hingis seemed completely deflated after that and was unable
to handle Clijsters's pace, especially off the forehand side.
"I can hit winners everywhere around the court with my
forehand," Clijsters said.
Hingis said that while she believes that Clijsters is a
sure bet to reach the Top 10, she didn't bring her own "A" game
into the semifinal.
"I let her play well," Hingis said. "But she didn't miss
that much like she did in the past. I didn't do enough to force
her into mistakes. But she's definitely not scared of winning,
that's for sure."
Clijsters, who has won three titles in her career, has
never won a Tier I event such as Indian Wells. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories | |
ALSO SEE Thursday's results Indian Wells seeds Venus Williams withdraws from match with sister Siblings to square off: Both Williams sisters advance Hingis still concentrating on getting better Hingis needs tie-break to reach Indian Wells quarters Davenport, Williams sisters advance at Indian Wells Serena cruises in pink, Dominkovic shocks Tauziat at Indian Wells | |
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