Belgium’s Kim Clijsters opened the New Year in the best possible style when she overpowered Italian Tathiana Garbin 6-2, 6-1 in the first round of the Brisbane International yesterday.
Despite a nervous start to the match when she lost her serve in the opening game, the reigning US Open champion quickly found her form to overcome Garbin in just 53 minutes. Garbin had no answer to the 26-year-old Clijsters once the Belgian found her range, with an array of powerful and accurate groundstrokes proving lethal.
Clijsters’ forehand was particularly damaging, pinning Garbin back in the corners and forcing a host of errors from her opponent.
PHOTO: AFP
The strength of Clijsters’ groundstrokes put Garbin’s serve under immense pressure and the Italian was unable to cope, making just 51 percent of her first serves.
Clijsters took full advantage and broke twice in the first set and twice more in the second as she booked her place in the second round, where she will face Australia’s own comeback queen Alicia Molik.
Molik, granted a wildcard to play the tournament, beat Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova 6-4, 1-6, 6-4.
The match was Clijsters’ first on her full return to the WTA tour after retiring in May 2007.
She made a partial comeback last year, playing just four tournaments and culminating in her sensational US Open victory in New York.
The win delighted the large crowd packed into the Pat Rafter Arena, who gave Clijsters a rousing reception when she stepped onto the center court.
Andrea Petkovic of Germany caused the only upset on a rain-affected first day when she beat eighth seeded Czech Iveta Benesova 6-7 (6/8), 6-2, 6-1 in a shade over two hours.
Seventh-seeded Hungarian Melinda Czink narrowly avoided a similar fate, beating Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
Other first round winners were Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic, who beat Belarusian Olga Govortsova 6-4, 6-1 and American Vania King, who downed Sybille Bammer of Austria by the same scoreline.
The men’s matches were washed out and had to be rescheduled for today.
■CAPITALA EXHIBITION
AP, ABU DHABI
Rafael Nadal won his first title of the new year, beating Robin Soderling 7-6 (3), 7-5 in the final of the season-opening Capitala exhibition tournament on Saturday to end a two-match losing streak against the Swede.
After both players held serve throughout the first set, the second-ranked Spaniard broke decisively in the sixth game of the second at Zayed Sports City.
Soderling had ended Nadal’s 31-game unbeaten run on clay at the French Open last year, and beat him again at the season-sending ATP Tour World Finals in London.
Roger Federer defeated David Ferrer of Spain 6-1, 7-5 to finish third. Nadal will play in the Qatar Open, the Australian Open from Jan. 18 and the ABN AMRO from Feb. 8 in the Netherlands before taking a break.
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