US Open Player of the Day: Day 1- Kim Clijsters

Most tennis fans know that Roger Federer hasn’t lost at the US Open since 2003. That kind of streak gets you the No. 1 ranking in the world and the top seed in the tournament.

For Kim Clijsters, its also been six years without defeat… though few realize it.

Clijsters took to Arthur Ashe Stadium in singles competition for the first time since she defeated Mary Pierce in the 2005 women’s final, making quick work of Viktoriya Kutuzova, 6-1 6-1.

“When Ana Ivanovic and I were at the Arthur Ashe Kids' Day, we were like, ‘Ah, this is really nice to be out on this court,’” said Clijsters in her post-match press conference, when asked about being back at Ashe. “Little more nervous than usual. It's a very special court to me, but I really enjoyed it. I felt really good out there.”

It looked as if she never left.

The Belgian, who has missed four of the last five US Opens due to wrist injury, then retirement (Clijsters gave birth to her first child in February 2008), today dismantled her Ukrainian counterpart from start to finish—each 6-1 set took 27 minutes apiece—revealing the form that led her to the top in the earlier part of the decade. Clijsters broke Kutuzova’s serve at a 50-percent rate (5 out of 10), while delivering seven aces on her own en route to methodical victory.

Heading into a second-round matchup with France’s Marion Bartoli, Clijsters captures the very essence of the wild-card notation by her name on the draw—which Bartoli can attest to first-hand. The current No. 13-ranked female in the world drew the former world’s No. 1 Clijsters three weeks ago in the opening round of the 2009 Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open and was defeated in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.

The Aug. 12 match in Cincinnati would mark the return of Clijsters after over two years away from the game, amidst flashing bulbs and heightened press coverage.

“It was very difficult to expect anything,” Bartoli said after the match. “I haven’t seen her in two years. That’s the reason I didn’t start well. I was trying to figure out what she was doing instead of playing my game. By the time I figured out her tactics, I was down 0-4. It’s just a really bad draw, I guess.”

Clijsters would go on to reach the quarterfinals in Cincinnati and the third round in Toronto at the Rogers Cup, two smaller-scale tune-ups for Queens to build confidence and get some of the hoopla out of the way.

Now, instead of questions about newfound motherhood and off-court distractions, the focus on Clijsters becomes whether her game will be strong enough to complete the comeback.

Winning 27 of 32 first-serve points—a cool 84 percent—eased Clijsters’ mind.

“Obviously (Kutuzova) made a lot of mistakes today, but I really felt like I was able to do what I had to do and work on the things that weren't going as well in Cincinnati and Toronto,” said Clijsters. “I really feel like my serve was one of the things didn't go so well there. It was really good today, so that's just nice to see that improvement.

“Now it's a matter of trying to go keep this going.”