BRUSSELS: Former world No. 1 Kim Clijsters announced yesterday she is to retire after the US Open in September.
The 28-year-old Belgian told a news conference that she wanted to sign out in New York where she enjoyed the biggest success of her career winning the the women’s singles title at Flushing Meadow three times in 2005, 2009 and 2010.
“As it stands I will end my career at the US Open, That is where I enjoyed my greatest triumphs and it is a very special place for me,” she said. “The stadium is only about 45 minutes away from our house in the United States and my parents-in-law will be able to be present.”
Clijsters is married to former US basketball player Brian Lynch and the couple have a daughter Jada.
She retired for a first time in May, 2007 and gave birth to her daughter before staging a remarkable comeback in 2009 which ended in her triumph at the US Open which she successfully defended the following year. Clijsters also won the Australian Open in 2011, the same year she topped the world rankings for the first time in five years. But she has increasingly been dogged by injuries which caused her to draw down the curtain on the claycourt season and concentrate instead on the London Olympics and the US Open.
Tomic reaches
2nd round
In Nice, France, fifth-seeded Bernard Tomic beat Lukas Lacko 6-2, 6-3 yesterday to reach the second round of the Open de Nice.
The Australian broke Lacko’s serve twice in each set to set up a second-round match against Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan, who eased past big-serving American Sam Querrey 6-2, 7-5.
Seventh-seeded Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan also advanced to the second round with a 7-6 (3), 1-6, 6-1 win over Alejandro Falla of Colombia, and will play Nikolay Davydenko after the Russian defeated Matthew Ebden of Australia 6-3, 6-3.
Also, Xavier Malisse of Belgium beat Lu Yen-Hsun of Taiwan 7-5, 6-4, Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria defeated Dudi Sela of Israel, 7-5, 6-1 and Edouard Roger-Vasselin beat Benoit Paire 6-4, 7-6 (2) in an all-French match.
Clijsters to retire after US Open
