WHAT HAPPENED: Three-time US Open champion Kim Clijsters was stunning at times, but ultimately couldn’t produce a high enough level to get past Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova as she fell, 3-6, 7-5, 6-1, to the No. 21 seed on Tuesday night in New York. 25-year-old Alexandrova trailed the 37-year-old Belgian early in set one, but ultimately she took over the tone and tempo of the contest as Clijsters slowly unravelled down the stretch.
“She’s a legend. The fact that I beat her means so much to me,” Alexandrova said on court after the match. “It’s such a big experience and I’m just happy that it ended up well.”
Making her first appearance at the US Open since 2012, the year she announced her second retirement from tennis, Clijsters dialed up vintage form at the onset and weathered the scorching, first-strike tennis of the talented Russian to claim the opening set.
Clijsters, cagey and confident at first, even rallied from a break down in the second set and stayed with Alexandrova until 5-5. But at that point the Russian clicked into a higher gear and finally converted her fourth set point to level at a set apiece.
The third set started with a Clijsters break but her momentum quickly faded into the New York night as the World No. 29, sensing the kill, continued to ride the hot hand. She took the final six games on the trot, sending Clijsters to just her third first-round loss at a major.
WHAT IT MEANS: In a wide-open draw, on fast-playing hard courts that suit her game, could the rising Russian emerge as a dark horse in the lower half of the women’s singles draw? It didn’t seem plausible at the end of set one, as Clijsters looked like the better player, but the way she flipped the script on the legendary Belgian shows the type of traction Alexandrova’s game can gain on lightning-quick courts at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Alexandrova moves on to face 18-year-old American Caty McNally in the second round. The Russian has never reached the third round at the US Open, but in a year that has already seen her claim her maiden WTA title, she looks capable of a run.
Clijsters shouldn’t hang her head about the loss. Playing in just the third match of her comeback, and just a week after she had to pull out of the Cincinnati draw due to an abdominal injury, she showed vintage form in spurts. If she can work her way to full fitness and grow her confidence with a few much-needed wins, she’ll be a factor among the elite as long as she chooses to continue her comeback.
MATCH POINT: Clijsters drops to 33-3 lifetime in first-round matches at Slams. Alexandrova improves to 6-1 in three-setters in 2020 and 3-3 overall at the US Open.
