Clijsters sends Venus packing in real style

If there were any lingering doubts about what sort of threat Kim Clijsters poses at this US Open Tennis Championships; they were smashed out of the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday when she produced more heroics to beat Venus Williams.

Kim Clijsters celebrates after defeating Venus Williams.

If there were any lingering doubts about what sort of threat Kim Clijsters poses at this US Open Tennis Championships; whether she could roll back the years and produce the sort of form that took her to the lofty heights of the No 1 ranked woman in the game a few years ago, they were smashed out of the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday when she produced more heroics to beat Venus Williams, the No 3 seed, 6-0, 0-6, 6-4.

The Belgian moved around the court comfortably, which is more than can be said for Williams with her troublesome left knee heavily strapped, and outmuscled her American opponent with her forceful ground strokes. Clijsters, winner at Flushing Meadows in 2005, looked as if she would inflict an embarrassing defeat on Williams after cruising through the first set 6-0, but to Williams's credit, she rallied back to take the match to a deciding set before Clijsters booked her place in the quarter-finals.

"It was unbelievable. I don't know what to say," said Clijsters, who is making her comeback on the women's tour after a two-year lay-off to get married and start a family. "It was such a weird match, especially those first two sets. But after I lost the second at 6-0, I said, 'Let's start over and start a new match'." It took 50 minutes to complete those first two sets, but both players regrouped and played some of the most compelling, solid tennis of the tournament.

Clijsters grabbed an early break for a 3-1 lead, helped by one of Williams's five double-faults to close it out, then served out the match, though it was anything but routine. She fell behind 0-30 on her serve at 5-4. She got it to 30-40, then hit a shot deep into the corner that Williams could not handle. She forced an error at deuce with another deep groundstroke, then launched a 163kph service winner off the line on the backhand side for the win.

The smile etched on Clijsters' face at the end of her match suggested that the former World No 1 knows she is capable of going the distance in New York. And if the history books are anything to go by, when these two face each other at the final grand slam event of the year, that is exactly where she will be in four days time. This marked the third meeting between Clijsters and Williams at the US Open, and each previous time, the winner has gone on to take the championship.

"I've been working really hard the last seven, eight months and I'm enjoying it," Clijsters said. "It's something that's really important for myself, as long as I can focus on tennis and have fun on the outside as well." Clijsters stepped away from the game in May 2007 after a series of injuries. She got married later that year, and gave birth in February 2008. "I'm glad I made that choice," she said, "because a lot of beautiful things came out of it."

Mother to 18-month-old daughter, Jada, Clijsters is trying to join Australians Margaret Court and Evonne Goolagong Cawley as the only the third mother to win a grand slam singles title. "We have help, so that's great," Clijsters said of her motherly duties. "It's fun. To her, it doesn't matter whether I win or lose. She's just happy to see me and that's great." Clijsters, who came into the US Open without enough tournaments under her belt to receive a ranking, now finds herself two wins away from repeating her feat of four years ago and becoming the first unseeded player to reach the final of the Open since Williams in 1997.

"I was really glad coming back that a few of the girls who were there when I was playing well are still on top right now," said Clijsters. "And it's great to see some of the newcomers doing well, too. It's fun for me to be part of the change the sport is going through." Her win is in keeping with the shock results this year's tournament has already served up. Serena Williams, the No 2 seed, is the only women currently ranked in the top five in the world remaining in the draw.

Clijsters will face the 18th seed, Li Na, of China, next with a probable meeting with Serena in the final. The elder Williams sister cruised through her fourth-round match, winning the final 10 games in a 6-2, 6-0 rout over Daniela Hantuchova. "I just want to keep this level and just stay focused," said Williams., bidding for a 12th grand slam title. * With agencies