Clijsters blames doubts for Rus defeat

 

Originally published on: 27/05/11 09:26

Kim Clijsters attributed her shock second round defeat to 114th-ranked Arantxa Rus to a lack of confidence after bowing out of the French Open.

“I started doubting a little bit,” said the Belgian, who had not played since Miami after suffering shoulder, wrist and ankle injuries. “When you start doubting yourself on any surface, but for me definitely on clay, it’s the wrong attitude to have.”

The two-time French Open runner-up had two match points in the second set, but failed to convert either. She tallied 65 unforced errors to 22 from Rus and lost 11 of the last 12 games, but Clijsters refused to blame the ankle that she injured at her cousin’s wedding for her poor performance.

“My ankle feels fine, so that has absolutely nothing to do with it,” said the Belgian. “If I felt like I wasn’t ready as much as I would have liked to be, I wouldn’t have come here. If I wasn’t feeling like I was able to play tough matches, then I would have made that decision to come here.”

Clijsters had the chance to close out victory at 5-2 up in the second set, but 20-year-old Rus dug her heels in and shifted the momentum.

“She obviously started building up more confidence, started playing a lot better and was really kind of putting me on my back foot all the time. I couldn’t really play my aggressive tennis anymore in that third set,” Clijsters finished.

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