Kim Clijsters makes it to final as Serena implodes

NEW YORK: Comeback queen Kim Clijsters produced a massive upset to defeat title holder and tournament favourite Serena Williams 6-4, 7-5 in the U.S. Open semifinals on Saturday.

The match had a chaotic ending with Williams handed a point penalty for verbally abusing and threatening a lineswoman who foot-faulted her to set up matchpoint.

Williams had earlier drawn a warning for smashing her racquet to the ground after losing the first set. The second warning was an automatic point penalty, which just happened to come on matchpoint.

A first by Clijsters

Clijsters, who looked stunned by the finish, became the first wildcard, man or woman, to reach a U.S. Open final and the first mother to reach a Grand Slam final since Australia’s Evonne Goolagong in 1980 when she won the Wimbledon title.

“I was trying to stay focussed for the match and was facing the other way,” Clijsters said.

“I saw Serena talking to the lineswoman, but I was too far way to hear what she was saying so I can’t really comment on what was happening out there.”

Clijsters will take on Caroline Wozniacki in Sunday’s final after the 19-year-old Dane defeated Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium 6-3, 6-3 in the other semifinal.

Long wait

The highly-anticipated match-up of the tournament favourite and the young mother who only returned to competition in early August after taking two years out to marry and have a baby finally got underway at after 9 p.m., over a day late following 48 hours of rain in the New York area.

The Arthur Ashe Stadium court was far from full with many fans having trudged off home after waiting in vain for hours in the damp, cool conditions to see some action.

Clijsters was quickest out of the blocks holding serve in the opening game of the match before putting some pressure on a heavy-footed Williams on her serve. Games went with serve until 3-2 to Clijsters when a light drizzle started to fall once more, but play continued with both players looking tentative and unsure of their footing, especially the American.

Williams promptly dropped serve to 15 with a double fault and three unforced errors doing the damage.

But falling behind appeared to be just the wake-up call 11-time Grand Slam winner Williams needed as she turned on the power in the next game to break back immediately.

Clijsters held to love in her next service game, forcing Williams to serve to stay in the set at 4-5 down.

A forehand slapped into the net gave Clijsters a first set point and she took that when Williams mishit a backhand again into the net, smashing her racquet to the ground in disgust immediately afterwards and drawing a code violation.

It was the first set she had lost in the tournament.

Williams came back after the changeover trying to get herself pumped up and a series of big groundstrokes had Clijsters on the backfoot, helping the American to break serve in the first game of the second set.

But she gave that back right away double-faulting on break point and muttering to herself “I can’t believe it.”

Clijsters, whose only Grand Slam title win came here in 2005, held serve to lead 2-1, but two games later she was broken for the third time as Williams dominated the rallies with her heavier shot-making.

Williams saved three break points in the following game but on the fourth one Clijsters took control and levelled at 3-3.

She held her own serve from 0-30 down and then held three break points in the next game for a 5-3 lead only for Williams to produce big serves when she needed them most.

But four games later, Williams was in trouble on serve again and this time she cracked under the pressure after the foot fault to set up matchpoint.

Ninth-seeded Wozniacki, who became the first Danish woman to reach a Grand Slam singles final, covered her face with her hand as tears came to her eyes at the end of the 96-minute match at a virtually deserted Louis Armstrong Stadium.

“I’m in the U.S. Open final. I cannot describe it with words. I’m so excited,” she told reporters. “It’s a dream come true to play the finals of a Grand Slam, and now I’m here. I have absolutely nothing to lose.”

40 unforced errors

In a match delayed more than seven hours from its scheduled afternoon launch because of wet conditions, the unseeded Wickmayer made 40 unforced errors, mainly from her booming forehand, against just 14 for the Dane.

Because of the backlog in the rain-battered schedule on the closing weekend at Flushing Meadows, their semifinal was played at the same time as Clijsters and Serena Williams were duelling at the adjacent Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Sparse crowd

A sedate audience of only a few hundred gathered close around them at the 10,000-seat court. The only cheers heard were those that drifted down from the towering main stadium.

Wozniacki executed the same gameplan that lifted her to a quarterfinal win over U.S. darling Melanie Oudin.

Playing it safe while demonstrating an athletic, all-round game, the eighth-ranked Dane won the first set despite holding serve just twice as she broke number 50 Wickmayer four times.

The Dane, who arrived at the National Tennis Center some 10 hours before her match eventually got underway, said defence was the key.

Wozniacki, winner of three tournaments this year including the New Haven run-up event for the Open, claimed victory on her second matchpoint when, fittingly, Wickmayer belted a forehand wide.

Tomic wins boys’ title

Australia’s Bernard Tomic won the boys’ junior title on Sunday defeating Chase Buchanan of the United States 6-1, 6-3 in the final.

The third seed is the first Australian to win the boys’ title here since Mark Kratzmann, who defeated Boris Becker in the 1984 final.

Earlier, unseeded local favourite Chase Buchanan ended top seed Yuki Bhambri’s title hopes with a stunning straight-set defeat in the quarterfinals.

The match, delayed by a day due to persistent rain, ended in a heartbreaking 3-6, 6-7(4) loss for the Indian, who had not dropped a set this far in the hard court event.

Buchanan then went on to win his semifinal against eighth seed Gianni Mina of France.

Title for Heather

Britain’s Heather Watson won the junior girls’ title defeating Yana Buchina of Russia 6-4, 6-1 in the final.

The 17-year-old, 11th seed from the Channel Island of Guernsey is the first British player to lift the girls’ title in New York