This turned out mostly the way we thought it would. Agnieszka Radwanska played clever tennis when Kim Clijsters let her, but when Clijsters was Clijsters, she didn’t allow Radwanska to be Radwanska. In the end, Clijsters won, 6-3, 7-6 (4).
Some history: Clijsters, the favorite to win the tournament, came in to the match attempting to reach her 15th Grand Slam singles semifinal. Radwanska was trying to make her first. Clijsters defeated Radwanska the only other time they played, but that was more than four years ago, back when the Pole was south of the Top 100. In Melbourne, Radwanska saved two match points in her fourth-rounder just to get here. Clijsters hadn’t been at her best in her last few matches, but got here without losing a set.
Clijsters didn’t lose one today either, though she came close. Radwanska covered the court and anticipated nicely, but she didn’t have enough to hurt Clijsters, even when she did things well. Consider Radwanska's first serves: She made 83 percent of them, yet was broken six times. Whether she was playing strongly or sloppy, it was what Clijsters did that mattered. The Belgian hit roughly three times as many errors (37 to 13) but also three times as many winners (41 to 14) as her opponent.
By the end of the first set, ESPN2's Darren Cahill and Mary Joe Fernandez felt Radwanska’s best bet was to throw in some junk and wait—perhaps they meant pray—for Clijsters to go on a “walkabout.” “Make the tennis really ugly, and find a way to make Kim a little disinterested,” said Cahill.
At times, Clijsters actually did seem disinterested, but she found her focus when it mattered. Down 4-5 in the second set, Clijsters showed her range, both offensively and defensively. She got to a few balls that would make Caroline Wozniacki proud and, once she got back into those points, hit some fierce groundstrokes Serena Williams could praise. Clijsters won today, but it wasn't a flawless performace, as she herself acknowledged: “I didn’t really feel that great out there today. I felt heavy in the legs.”
It’s been a surprisingly good Oz run for Radwanska, who wasn’t even supposed to play this tournament. She recently had surgery for a foot stress fracture and, according to Cahill, doctors gave her a zero percent chance of being here. “I should have surgery before every Grand Slam,” said Radwanska. It’s been an interesting run, too. In her first-round match against veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm, she starred in what may end up the fortnight’s biggest YouTube moment. She’s now projected to return to the Top 10.
Clijsters, for her part, gets to play another day in Melbourne. When she does, she’ll play for the No. 2 ranking and a spot in another Grand Slam final. Across the net will be Vera Zvonareva, the only Top 10 opponent who beat her last year.
—Bobby Chintapalli