FULL VERSION 2005 - Clijsters vs Pierce - US Open

Описание: *****************************************************
Tournament Copyrights -
© 2005 United States Tennis Association (USTA)
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Commentary / Broadcast Copyrights -
© 2005 CBS Sports (United States) - a division of ViacomCBS Inc.
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Rad to the Power of Cool Copyrights -
© 2021 PertSnergleman™ Channel
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PertSnergleman's Review:
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It was entirely in keeping with Kim Clijsters' character that, having finally won her first grand slam title, she turned briefly towards her family and coach, her blue eyes brimming with joy, before spinning round and running to console her beaten opponent, Mary Pierce.

This was the type of considerate gesture that has made her so popular both on and off the court, and why this win is such a delight.

"Too nice to be a champion" has been a tag that the 22-year-old Belgian has borne with typical good humour for rather too long. She could have pointed, in her defence, to the 27 titles she has won on the WTA Tour, but she did not.

She could have made excuses for her previous four defeats in slam finals, three of them against her fellow Belgian Justine Henin- Hardenne. She did not.

"I proved to myself that I can do it," Clijsters said. "And that I'm up there with the best of them."

As a most glorious late summer sunset infused the Manhattan skyline with glowing reds and oranges, Clijsters instantly imposed her greater athleticism on the 30- year-old French woman. Pierce, having won the Australian Open in 1995 and the French Open in 2000, was looking to extend this five-year symmetry under the floodlights of the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

She came nowhere close...

At the French Open this year Pierce had played much compelling tennis to reach the final, only to lose tamely 6-1,6-1 to Henin, which prompted her to apologise tearfully to the Parisians. She could have repeated such apologies here but wisely sensed that the New York crowd might be altogether less sympathetic.

Pierce had been accused of gamesmanship after her semi-final victory over Russia's Elena Dementieva when, having lost the first set, she took two medical timeouts lasting 12 minutes which totally disrupted Dementieva's rhythm. So when Pierce, her right thigh heavily taped, called for the trainer again during the first set against Clijsters, it immediately prompted some mild booing.

With a refreshing smile, Clijsters collected not only the winner's trophy, but a payday of $2.2 million -- the double bonus she earned by winning both the Open and the U.S. Open series of hardcourt tournaments this summer. Suddenly, those four losses in Grand Slam finals disappeared.

"I think there's a time and a place for everything," Clijsters said. "Maybe it wasn't my time yet in those Grand Slams."

Clijsters lost her first Grand slam final to Jennifer Capriati, 12-10, in the third set of the 2001 French Open. She also lost three finals to her Belgian rival, Justine Henin-Hardenne.

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