There will be no "Kim Slam," but not because of Caroline Wozniacki in the final, Maria Sharapova in the quarters or another top-tier opponent in a later round. U.S. and Australian Open champion Kim Clijsters has lost in the second round of the French Open to 20-year-old Arantxa Rus—after leading 6-3, 5-2, and holding two match points.
Clijsters' name was all but written into the third round of the draw; she had a chance to end the match on Rus' serve at 5-2 and again at 5-4, but misfired both times. It got much worse from there, as the normally reliable Clijsters bled errors. Forehands, backhands, serves, you name it: it was all ugly by the end.
There was some shakiness in Clijsters' game in her first-rounder, but she advanced in spite of it. It caught up with her today, her lack of match play and recent injury surely contributing. By the end of her 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 loss, Clijsters had struck an astoundingly high 65 unforced errors.
Rus, once a top-ranked junior, is a slender lefty who hits harder than you'd think. She was at her best in the third set, fending off a break point in the second game after Clijsters had held to open the set. Rus recovered, held her serve, then immediately took an 0-30 lead in the following game, keeping rallies going and giving Clijsters more opportunities to make errors. She would go on to win the final six games of the match, clearly making the most of her opportunity.
—Ed McGrogan