Clijsters, Sharapova advance to WTA Cincinnati final
Reigning US Open champion Kim Clijsters and Russian beauty Maria
Sharapova advanced to the WTA Cincinnati Open final in very different
fashion on Saturday.
Belgian fourth seed Clijsters needed only 12 minutes to reach
Sunday’s title match of the two million-dollar hardcourt event after
Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic retired due to a left foot injury and left the
court in tears.
Sharapova needed 2 1/2 hours to defeat Russian teen Anastasia
Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 in the other semi-final. Sharapova made 40
unforced errors to 35 for her rival.
Clijsters led 2-1 after breaking Ivanovic in the third game, but the
showdown of former world number ones would end after only 25 points
being played and with the Serbian’s US Open hopes in great jeopardy.
Ivanovic hurt her left foot making a forehand return from the
baseline and after one more shot dropped her racket and doubled over in
pain.
“I was very scared,” Ivanovic said.
“All of a sudden on that one shot, I felt something crack a little
bit.
“Just on that one forehand when I went to step around it, I just felt
like pain all of a sudden, so much pain in my foot and I couldn’t step
on it anymore.”
Ivanovic limped to her chair and called for the trainer who taped the
injured foot.
But after the next point, a serve Ivanovic never challenged, she
halted the match and hobbled to the net where Clijsters embraced her and
advancing to her third final of the year.
“I tried bit of tape, but I could not put any weight on it and there
was no point in me continuing,” Ivanovic said. Ivanovic, ranked 62nd,
struggled with a right shoulder injury earlier this year and was in only
her third semi-final of the year, having yet to reach a final.
“I played some really great tennis and I was very excited about this
match,” Ivanovic said.
AFP |