Williams, Clijsters Set for Spectacular QF in Antwerp
February 16, 2005
Williams, Clijsters Set for Spectacular QF in Antwerp
ANTWERP, Belgium - In the most-highly anticipated quarterfinal at this week's
Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp, two former World No.1s are now set to face
another for the first time in almost 20 months.
No.3 seed Venus Williams and unseeded Kim Clijsters will face one another for
the first time since Wimbledon in 2003 when they square off in the round of
eight at the Belgian indoor event.
Williams advanced to the quarters with a 63 60 victory against French wild
card Virginie Razzano.
"I'm very happy to be back here," Williams said. "I'm quite happy with the
way I played today. I've been practising hard since Saturday and (Razzano)
is a tricky opponent. She plays quite fast and gives the ball a good hit, so
I'm happy to get it over as quickly as that."
Meanwhile, Clijsters had a little more of a challenge on Wednesday, needing
three sets to defeat No.5 seed Nadia Petrova, 75 67 61.
"I played well tonight," Clijsters said. "I think I surprised myself in how
well I've done so far. It's a long time since I played someone that highly
ranked - at the Australian Open last year I think.
"My backhand's held up really well and tonight was a good test for it. I'm so
glad to be back - it's been a very hard few months, but wins like this and
just being out on the court again make it so much more enjoyable."
Between 2001 and mid-2003, Williams and Clijsters met seven different times
on court with the American player winning in five of those meetings. But due
to injuries sustained by both players, the two haven't been on opposite sides
of the net in quite a while.
"I'm looking forward to playing Venus," Clijsters said. "It's just like old
times again. Hopefully we'll both play many more times this year. What ever
happens in that match, I've exceeded my expectations thus far."
The quarterfinal battle between Williams and Clijsters will not only be a
matchup between two former No.1s, but also a meeting between the winners of
the last three Antwerp titles. Williams won in both 2002 and 2003, while
Clijsters won last year's event.
Joining Williams and Clijsters in the quarterfinals was No.7 seed Patty
Schnyder, who defeated French qualifier Camille Pin, 63 46 61. Schnyder will
face either top seed Amelie Mauremo or Mary Pierce in the next round.
In a repeat matchup from last week's Open Gaz de France semifinal, France's
Tatiana Golovin was able to avenge her defeat to Russia's Dinara Safina last
Saturday with a 64 67 63 victory in the first round. Safina was able to pull
out a tough victory against Golovin last week and eventually defeated
Mauresmo in the final.
Now, Golovin advances and will face No.2 seed Anastasia Myskina in the next
round.
In other first round action, lucky loser Claudine Schaul defeated Belgian
wild card Els Callens, 63 64. After the match, Callens announced that this
will be her last year to compete on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. She'll play
through the year and finish her career in Hasselt late in the season.
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