Tennis: Clijsters mentally strong in win over Venus

Published on Monday 7 September 2009 09:38

FORMER US Open champion Kim Clijsters credited her mental strength as she continued her comeback from retirement with a three-set victory over third seed Venus Williams.

Belgium's Clijsters had not played at Flushing Meadows since winning the 2005 title but, armed with a wild card in her third tournament since returning to the game, the 26-year-old reached the quarter-finals with a 6-0, 0-6, 6-4 victory over the two-time champion from the United States in an hour and 42 minutes at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Clijsters said her performance in a "weird" match meant she was unable to measure herself against one of the biggest names in tennis but there were still plenty of positives to take out of the victory.

"I know today that Venus wasn't playing her best tennis so it's hard to compare anything in today's match," Clijsters said, "but there's a lot of other things personally that I'm taking out of this. Just the mental strength that I kept focusing on. Adjusting my game a little bit to a couple of weaknesses that I had out there.

"That's a very positive thing for myself, where in the past I maybe could have just let it slip away."

On match point Clijsters sent down a blistering serve out wide which Williams could not return and after two and a half years of retirement, the former world number one was back in the last eight of a grand slam, facing a quarter-final date on Tuesday against China's Li Na, the 18th seed.