Kim Clijsters, Vera Zvonareva to Meet in US Open Tennis Women’s Finals

Vera Zvonareva upset No. 1 seed Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets, and Kim Clijsters dispatched Venus Williams in three tough sets on Friday afternoon, with both heading on to the U.S. Open Tennis finals Saturday night.

Seventh-seed Zvonareva was the underdog before the precise play of Wozniacki, who had averaged fewer than six unforced errors per set on her way to the semifinals. But Wozniacki apparently felt the pressure; she made 31 unforced errors in the two sets.

Zvonareva on the other hand seemed completely composed; there was no sign of the blow-ups she has occasionally experienced in other matches. Her serve was strong (nine aces in the match) and she showed her ability to hit form the baseline (some rallies running to two dozen groundstrokes) and to come to the net.

Wozniacki struggled to win her first service game, and was broken in her third. In the second set, Zvonareva again broke her opponent’s service in game three, but Wozniacki responded immediately. Zvonareva crushed any hope of a rally breaking right back again.

Aside from the one break, Zvonareva never looked anything but completely in control. She won the match 6–4, 6–3

Kim Clijsters, looking for her 20th U.S. Open win in a row, came into the match seeded second, one ahead of her opponent Venus Williams. Clisters looked good, moving exceptionally well and staying composed despite Venus winning the first set 6–4 with her big serves and volleying.

The second set was very close. Clisters broke Venus in the second game; Venus closed out the fourth game with three consecutive aces and then broke back in the fifth.

In the sixth game, Clijsters earned two break points, the first of which Venus defended brilliantly, coming to the net and winning the point with a huge overhead smash. But Clijsters fought back and won the break, going up 4–2.

Venus was not done yet. In the ninth game she again broke Clijsters’ serve, and took the match to a tiebreak. And that is where it all went wrong.

Williams’ serve betrayed her; she hit three double-faults in a row and failed to score a single point on serve in the tiebreak. Clijsters took the second set 7–6.

Venus came back fighting in the third set, but Clijsters’ mobility trumped Williams’ power. In the third game Clijsters ran down two Williams’ drop shots, refusing to let a ball by until finally Venus hit the net, giving up another service break.

After that Venus began looking a little ragged, as if she were chasing Clijsters’ shots and struggling to keep up. Williams made a brilliant left-hand defensive lob to save the seventh game, showing amazing adaptability and competitive spirit.

Venus broke Clijsters in the eighth, but only after a Clijsters error. She couldn’t handle Clijsters’ returns when she came to the net, and couldn’t hit the ball anywhere Clijsters couldn’t run it down.

In the ninth, Clijsters broke back with a pair of perfect defensive lobs, the last which fooled Williams; she let it go and it dropped in. Williams followed with another double fault—her seventh of the match—and Clijsters finished the game with yet another perfect lob.

Clijsters served out the match without drama, winning 4–6, 7–6, 6–4, and will move on to the finals as the definite favorite.