6/28/2001
Clijsters Cruises to Victory
by Henry Wancke
A broad smile spread across eighteen year-old Kim Clijsters face following her emphatic 6-3 6-1 second round defeat of Maureen Drake, the Canadian qualifier who at 30 years of age, has the distinction of being the oldest player in the women's draw.
The age gap was as wide as their respective rankings and it showed in their play. Drake (ranked at 205 in the world) had little firepower to discomfort Clijsters.
The Belgium, seeded seventh, recovered from a slight lapse in her standard of play which allowed Drake to pull back from a 4-1 deficit to 4-3, before pocketing the first set in 28-minutes. Some 15-minutes later, Clijster pocketed the match, when she struck her tenth ace to finish off in style.
In her two matches, the teenager from Bilzen, runner-up at the French Open, has conceded just six games and looks favourite in her quarter to reach the last eight and a prospective clash with Jelena Dokic who also advanced into the third round comfortably.
And, like Dokic, Clijsters admitted she liked to score quickly. "Even if its not right ball to attack, or the right point," she said. "I'm the type of player that likes to finish things off quickly and today I played good enough to win."
She was rather dismissive of her opponent. "I didn't play my best tennis, but still good enough to beat this girl easily," she added. "I was happy with the way I served today. After my first singles match I went and hit a few more serves, practiced my second serve and today that was all well."
Ever since her debut at Wimbledon two years ago when she lost to Steffi Graf, Clijsters has an affinity for the Championships. "I really like coming back here. I'm always looking forward to coming back ever since I played in the final of the juniors here.
"I really enjoyed it; I like the atmosphere, even though it rains sometimes. It's probably one of the nicest Grand Slams for me as it's also close to Belgium so a lot of my family and friends can come.
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