U.S. Open Tennis

FLUSHING, N.Y. (CBS) ― Two-time major champion Svetlana Kuznetsova has advanced to the second round of the U.S. Open with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Julia Goerges of Germany.

Kuznetsova, the 2004 champion at Flushing Meadows and this year's French Open champion, broke open a 3-3 tie in the first set and won nine of the next 11 games for the victory.

The Russian played the opening match Tuesday at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Others scheduled to play include top-seeded Dinara Safina, 2006 champion Maria Sharapova and No. 2 seed Andy Murray.

Meanwhile on Monday, defending champions Roger Federer and Serena Williams won, too, and Andre Agassi came back to the site of the final match of his career in 2006, participating in an opening-night ceremony. Kim Clijsters also won in her first match since retiring.

By beating 18-year-old NCAA champion Devin Britton of Jackson, Miss., 6-1, 6-3, 7-5, Federer ran his winning streak to 35 matches at the tournament and became the first tennis player to surpass $50 million in career prize money. Williams also beat an American teenager in straight sets, eliminating Alexa Glatch of Newport Beach, Calif., 6-4, 6-1.

"Tricky match for me, playing a guy who's got absolutely nothing to lose," said Federer, seeking a sixth consecutive U.S. Open title.

No one has done that since Bill Tilden won the American Grand Slam tournament every year from 1920-25.

"That's what I'm here for, trying to equal Bill Tilden's record. But I've never met Bill Tilden. Never saw him play. So it's hard to kind of relate to him in any way, except through records," Federer said. "It's fantastic to be sort of compared to someone who played such a long time ago, I guess."

Other winners included John Isner, the 6-foot-9 American who knocked off No. 28-seeded Victor Hanescu of Romania in straight sets, including a 16-14 tiebreaker in the second; No. 21 James Blake; and French Open runner-up Robin Soderling.

Two-time major champion Amelie Mauresmo won easily, as did No. 7 Vera Zvonareva, No. 8 Victoria Azarenka, No. 10 Flavia Pennetta, No. 12 Agnieszka Radwanska and No. 14 Marion Bartoli, whose next opponent is Clijsters.

Bartoli, the 2007 Wimbledon runner-up, also just so happens to have been the first woman Clijsters played in her comeback. Clijsters beat her.

"I just have to go on court and think I'm still the player with the better ranking, so I'm supposed to win," Bartoli said Monday. "This time I know what to do. I have a plan, so it's going to be different."

That was only one of several impressive wins for Clijsters already, including against Azarenka and Kuznetsova.

"Where I was the most surprised," Clijsters said, "is how comfortable I felt out there from the beginning."

She hit seven aces against Kutuzova, and won 60 of the 88 points. There also were some mistakes and some rust, including four double-faults.

But Clijsters knew that would be part of the deal as she decided to embark on a second tennis career. She started thinking about ending her retirement seriously early this year, after being invited to play in exhibition matches to test Wimbledon's new Centre Court roof.

As Clijsters began to get in shape for that, she knew a return to the tour was what she wanted. Maybe even needed.

"I wasn't surprised when Kim told me she wanted to give her tennis career another go. I knew she was young enough, and the more times she picked up the racket, the more the competitive bug bit her," said her husband, Brian Lynch, an American who played professional basketball in Belgium. "I'm excited and happy for her -- that our family has a chance to go on this adventure together."

Clijsters looked at times Monday like she never went away: those deep forehands, all-over-the-court movement, the occasional volley.

"Just the match rhythm, I think, is something I have to get used to," Clijsters said. "OK, matches like this today -- I didn't really get tested."

Kutuzova explained why afterward: She was bitten by a spider a couple of days ago and had a bad allergic reaction, one that left parts of her arms red and swollen. A doctor gave her some medicine -- too much medicine, Kutuzova said.

"I wasn't even sure if I can play, because I was feeling very bad. When it was long points, I couldn't breathe," she said. "I couldn't really see the ball, and everything was twisting."

Still, Kutuzova was impressed by the woman across the net: Kim Clijsters, back on a Grand Slam stage, back at the U.S. Open.

"I didn't see any difference," Kutuzova said, "between how she was playing before and how she's playing now."


 

 

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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