1/12/2001
Clijsters to Meet Davenport in 4th Round
Clijsters made easy of her third round opponent Nuria Llagostera on Friday at the 2001 Australian Open. She defeated the Spaniard 6-0 6-1, and set-up a fourth round showdown with defending champion Lindsay Davenport. Good luck Kim. The following is an article on the two players:
Davenport Performs a Demolition
Defending champion Lindsay Davenport and promising young Belgian Kim Clijsters set up a sizzling fourth round encounter after both wasted little time disposing of third round opponents in the Australian Open early Friday.
Davenport easily beat Italy's Silvia Farina Elia 6-2 6-1 in the first match on Rod Laver Arena, while Clijsters barely raised a sweat in her 6-0 6-1 annihilation of Spanish qualifier Nuria Llagostera on Vodafone Arena.
Clad in an uncharacteristically hot pink tennis top, Davenport, who last year reached the final of three Grand Slam singles events, proved too consistent for the 50th-ranked Italian, overpowering her with a barrage of 31 winners.
Said the second-seeded American, a finalist in Sydney last week: "I don't feel pressure as the defending champion. I feel pressure because the competition is getting tougher each year. I agree with what Pete Sampras said, that you can't win a Grand Slam in the first week, you can only lose it.
"I'm a lot happier with the way I played today. I felt like I was hitting the ball a lot better," said the tall Californian, who battled with blisters on her right hand.
"It will be a tough match against Kim. It doesn't seem so long ago that I was the youngest on Tour. Now, at 24 I'm one of the oldest and there's a heap of young players playing well and hitting the ball hard," said Davenport, making her ninth straight appearance at the Australian Open.
The 136th-ranked Llagostera will take home bad memories of her first encounter with the talented Clijsters, who is making only her second appearance at Melbourne Park.
The 45-minute whitewash [which the Belgian led 6-0 5-0 before Llagostera bravely held serve], provided a minimal workout for the No.15 seed, who is just as well known for her romantic involvement with young Aussie Lleyton Hewitt as her oustanding talent.
Needless to say, after the match, the quietly spoken teenager faced more questions about her boyfriend's on-court antics than her emphatic performance.
"He's fine. I enjoy it when he does all that. I'm a little bit like that myself. That's his personality, he's a great fighter. That's why they love him so much."
Hewitt watched patiently from the stands today, before preparing to join his girlfriend on court later Friday afternoon in a first round mixed doubles match.
"I'm very happy with that level today. I'm starting to hit the ball better," said the 17-year-old Clijsters, who won her second career singles title down under [in Hobart] last year.
"I've lost to Lindsay twice already in three sets. It's always been close and I've had my chances. I'll have to be on my top though, but I'm looking forward to it. I'll have to return well to beat her."
~Clijsters City
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