A sleepy Kim Clijsters woke up in time to claim a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 second round win over American qualifier Bethanie Mattek-Sands at the Montreal Cup on Wednesday and continue her perfect buildup to the US Open.
While there was nothing close to perfection about Clijsters' performance against her 101-ranked opponent, the Belgian remains unbeaten on North American hardcourts this summer, rattling off six straight wins as she prepares to defend her title at Flushing Meadows this month.
Clijsters arrived in Montreal fresh from victory at the Cincinnati Open but the only part of the fifth seed's game that appeared razor-sharp was her determination, as she battled her stubborn American opponent for 2 hours and 14 minutes.
Trailing 4-1 in the second set after losing the first, Clijsters finally shifted into gear and raced through the next five games to level the contest.
Sands, who had failed to even qualify for her last two events, halted the skid when she held serve to open the third but Clijsters' class came through to sweep the final four games and close out the match.
"It's obviously nice to win matches like this when you've been down and to fight," she told reporters.
"You put the effort in and in the end it pays off. It's a nice way to end matches like that.
"I'm happy with the way I fought and just raised my level towards the end," she added.
BLUSTERY DAY
Clijsters, who also won the U.S. Open in 2005, has been nearly unbeatable on hardcourts this season, posting a 20-2 record and winning her last 12 matches on the surface in a streak that stretches back to a victory in Miami earlier this year.
Several other players flashed their hardcourt credentials on a blustery day in Montreal, including Russian fourth seed Elena Dementieva, who opened the defence of her Canadian crown in convincing style by sweeping past Czech Klara Zakopalova 6-2, 6-4.
Danish world number two Caroline Wozniacki, the woman Clijsters beat in the final to lift the US Open title last year, claimed a tough 7-5, 7-5 win over plucky Swiss Patty Schnyder to notch her first ever win on Canadian hardcourts.
"Patty is a great player, she is a very serious player," said Wozniacki, who had failed to win a match on her last two visits to Canada.
"She knows how to play the points the way you don't like it, she likes to mix it up and she doesn't give you any rhythm.
"It's very difficult to play against a player like that," she added.
Former world number one Dinara Safina displayed promising signs that the back problems that have plagued her for a year may finally be over as the Russian battled to a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 win over compatriot Nadia Petrova.
The victory marked the first time since the Australian Open that Safina has won back-to-back matches.
Back on the Montreal hardcourts for the first time since lifting the title in 2008, Safina has seen her ranking dive from number one to 70 but the Russian looked determined to reclaim her place among the elite when she fought back from 4-1 down in the third set.
"Winning a three-set match, it's the first time in a long time," said Safina.
"It was about hanging in there and keep on fighting. We both played very good but I won. That is the nicest thing at the end of the day," she added.
