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CLIJSTERS
ADVANCES TO BANK OF THE WEST CLASSIC FINAL
…Defending
champion and top-seed reaches final for the fifth
time | BRACKET
PALO
ALTO, Calif. – Top-seed and defending
champion Kim Clijsters defeated third-seed Nicole Vaidisova 7-5, 6-2
on Saturday to advance to Bank of the West Classic final for the
fifth time.
Clijsters, who
in the beginning of the week told reporters that she always seems to
play her best tennis at this tournament, has won the event three
times including a 7-5, 6-2 win over Venus Williams in the 2005
final.
“I have always
played well on hardcourts and one of my favorite trips of the year
is coming to Stanford,” said Clijsters after the match. “I have
played a lot in the last few months and changed surfaces a lot from
clay to grass to indoors at the Fed Cup to hardcourts
here.”
The
second-ranked woman in the world, Clijsters has not lost a singles
match here since the 2002 final against Williams, 11 straight wins,
and improves her career record at the Bank of the West Classic to
18-2.
“I won my
first couple of matches here but there was room for improvement,”
she added. “I feel like gradually everything has been getting better
and that is what I try to aim for.”
Vaidisova, a
semifinalist at this year’s French Open, had been impressive all
week reaching the semifinal without dropping a set. But 44 unforced
errors on Saturday were too much to overcome.
“She
(Clijsters) played well the whole time and I made some errors in the
second set that she took advantage of,” said Vaidisova. “She’s a
great mover, is very fast, and hits the ball very deep in the court.
She just keeps fighting for every point.”
Clijsters
opponent will be second-seed Patty Schnyder who defeated Tatiana
Golovin, 7-6 (4), 6-1 in the evening match.
Schnyder,
ranked eighth in the world, advances to her second tournament final
this season (Charleston) and is looking for her first tournament
title since July 2005 (Cincinnati).
“I know I am
the clear underdog and (Kim Clijsters) is the favorite,” said
Schnyder. “I’m just happy I got to the final and to still be here
and have a chance to win. I didn’t lose too much energy tonight.
I’ll just try my best and see how far I can push her.”
Tickets for
the Bank of the West Classic final can be purchased by logging on to
http://www.bankofthewestclassic.com/ticketinfo.html
or by calling the box office at (866) WTA-TIXS
(866-982-8497).
ABOUT THE BANK OF THE WEST CLASSIC:
The Bank of the West Classic, in its 36th year, is the
longest-running women-only professional tennis tournament in the
world and is the first stop of the US Open Series. A Sony Ericsson
WTA Tour Tier II event, the Bank of the West Classic features a
28-player singles draw and a 16-team doubles draw with total prize
money of $600,000. In 2005, Clijsters defeated Venus Williams 7-5,
6-2 in the singles final for her third BOTW Classic title, while
Cara Black and Rennae Stubbs captured the doubles title. Held on
Stanford University’s campus at Taube Family Tennis Stadium since
1997, former champions include: Billie Jean King, Chris
Evert, Martina Navratilova, Andrea Jaeger, Monica Seles, Martina
Hingis, Lindsay Davenport and Venus Williams. The Bank of the
West Classic is owned and operated by IMG.
ABOUT
BANK OF THE WEST: In its 15th year as title sponsor,
Bank of the West is the second largest commercial bank headquartered
in California, with $55 billion in assets and over 680 banking
locations in 19 states.
AGATE
Singles
Semifinals:
Kim Clijsters
(1) def. Nicole Vaidisova, 7-5, 6-2
Doubles
Semifinals:
Maria Elena
Camerin/Gisela Dulko def. Bethanie Mattek/Sania Mirza, 6-4, 6-3
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