US Open 2020: Kim Clijsters vs Ekaterina Alexandrova preview, head-to-head & prediction
Match details
Fixture: Kim Clijsters vs (21) Ekaterina Alexandrova
Date: 1 September 2020
Tournament: US Open 2020
Round: First round (Round of 128)
Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York, USA
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Outdoor hardcourt
Prize money: $39,024,000
Match timing: 8 pm EDT, 4:30 am IST
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel / ESPN | India - Star Sports / Hotstar
Kim Clijsters vs Ekaterina Alexandrova preview
Three-time US Open champion Kim Clijsters will return to a Major for the first time since 2012 when she takes on 21st seed Ekaterina Alexandrova at the Flushing Meadows on Tuesday.
It was in the summer of 2009 when the Belgian made a fairytale comeback from injury on these very courts in just her third tournament. It did not look like Kim Clijsters was coming back to the rigours of the Tour after a two-year absence as she defeated Venus and Serena Williams for her second US Open title.
The former world number one came back the next year to successfully defend her crown and added the Australian Open title to her kitty in 2011 before hanging up her racquet the next year.
Eight years since her second retirement, Kim Clijsters is back on the tour once again. Age hasn't been able to daunt the 37-year-old Hall of Famer whose passion for the game and hunger for competition remain the same as ever.
While she started the 2020 season with losses to Garbine Muguruza and Johanna Konta, it was at the World Team Tennis where she dazzled. Kim Clijsters led the New York Empire to the title with a host of wins over the likes of Sofia Kenin and Sloane Stephens along the way .
An abdominal injury, however, forced her to withdraw from the Western and Southern Open last week as Kim Clijsters strived to regain full fitness ahead of the 2020 US Open.
World number 29 Ekaterina Alexandrova comes into the US Open after establishing herself as one of the in-form players this season.
The Russian has been able to leave her mark even in the truncated season when she lifted her first singles title at the Shenzen Open in January. She backed it up with a solid performance at St. Petersburg where she reached the semifinals. With 13 match wins under her belt, the 25-year-old has been one of the players to watch out for this year.
Kim Clijsters vs Ekaterina Alexandrova head-to-head
This will be a battle of two generations. With the two players having never played against each other, their head-to-head rivalry ahead of their US Open opener stands at 0-0.
Kim Clijsters vs Ekaterina Alexandrova prediction
With the two players having never crossed each other's path in a competitive setting, their US Open first-round match could be an intriguing affair.
However, the gulf in pedigree and experience between the two players cannot be mistaken. The unranked Kim Clijsters has 41 WTA titles to her name while her first-round opponent Alexandrova has just one.
The extent of Kim Clijsters' recovery from her injury that forced her to pull out of Cincinnati last week will play a big role in the outcome of this match. Clijsters' game is built on her fluid footwork, which is why it is imperative that she feels her best when she takes on an opponent 12 years younger than her.
Kim Clijsters' ability to absorb pace and power of her opponents is second to none. But how long she would be able to sustain that level against an in-form player like Alexandrova remains to be seen, though.
The 2020 US Open seems to have come too early in Kim Clijsters' comeback, and the four-time Grand Slam champion might just have to wait for a bit more time to get favourable results at the elite stage.
Prediction: Ekaterina Alexandrova to win in three sets.