Williams defeats defending champion Clijsters for tournament title
By Daily Bruin Staff
July 28, 2002 9:00 p.m.
 The Associated Press
Anna Kournikova was eliminated in a
quarterfinal match against Venus Williams on July
26.
By Jeff Eisenberg
Daily Bruin senior Staff
[email protected]
PALO ALTO “”mdash; In a match against Venus Williams, the margin
for error is thin. Anything short of perfect tennis merits a
handshake and a quick trip to the showers.
That was the story at the Bank of the West Classic as No. 1
Venus Williams swept past defending champion Kim Clijsters 6-3, 6-3
to capture her second tournament title in three years in front of a
packed house at Stanford’s Taube Family Tennis Center.
“She’s a really good athlete and a very determined
player,” said the 22-year-old Williams, the No. 2-ranked
player in the world. “It is not every day that I have such a
good day. I thought she played very well today and brought out the
best in my game.”
The third-seeded Clijsters was in and out of trouble in her
service games throughout the match, and it finally caught up with
her in the sixth game of the first set. Down a break point, she hit
a routine forehand into the net, giving Williams the first break of
the match.
From there, Williams seemed to elevate her game, closing out the
first set rather easily and then storming to a 4-0 advantage in the
second set. Clijsters rallied to pull within 5-3, but could not
hold her own serve in the final game of the match.
“I did what I had to do,” said Williams. “When
I got up the double break, it seemed like I could cruise to the
victory, but she held on. That is one thing that I respect about
her ““ she tries to the very end.”
What had to be frustrating for Clijsters was how well she played
in spite of the outcome. Coming off of a debilitating shoulder
injury that has hindered her throughout much of the year, the
Belgian superstar made Williams exert a lot of energy, running her
from sideline to sideline on almost every point.
“It’s not that I made that many unforced
errors,” said Clijsters.
“Against Venus, you feel like every serve has to be placed
well and over 90 miles per hour. You have to try to keep her under
pressure from the first shot. If she plays her best tennis, it is
very tough to beat her.”
The Belgian had six break chances in the match but managed to
convert just one of them. Williams had ten double faults including
seven in the second set, but always seemed to come up with a big
serve when it mattered.
“I think basically it was just my second serve that I
struggled with,” said Williams. “Throughout this whole
week, (my serve) has really been an advantage getting me aces and
helping me set up the point.”
Clijsters agreed, pointing out that the majority of the miscues
did not come at important points in the match.
“At the moments where she feels it is necessary,
she’d focus a little bit extra,” she said.
“You feel like every shot has to be almost perfect. If you
hit a few balls to the same corner, she is there, and then she will
smack a winner right by you.”
The tournament championship puts Williams in a good position as
she attempts to notch her third consecutive U.S. Open Championship
in August.
“It would mean a lot to me to win the U.S. Open,”
said Williams. “I’d like to imagine that to beat me a
person would have to play almost perfect tennis.”
