Clijsters Surprises V. Williams at Open

FLUSHING MEADOWS, N.Y., Sept. 6 -- Eighteen months after giving birth to her first child and less than one month after coming out of retirement, Kim Clijsters was an unlikely candidate for toppling Venus Williams at this year's U.S. Open.

But in a match with wild shifts of momentum, Clijsters proved the more dogged competitor and pulled off the stunning upset, ousting the tournament's third seed and two-time champion, 6-0, 0-6, 6-4, to advance to the quarterfinals of the season's final major.

Clijsters won with the defensive tenacity that marked her play during her prime, when she ascended to No. 1 in the world in 2003 at age 20.

Now 26 and seasoned by the challenge of chasing a toddler around the house, Clijsters gamely raced around the Arthur Ashe Stadium court Sunday to retrieve blasts fired by one of the hardest hitters in women's tennis and send them back in kind.

Clijsters's reward is a quarterfinal meeting with China's Li Na, a 6-2, 6-3 victor over Italy's Francesca Schiavone. Should Clijsters defeat Li, she'd likely face the other Williams -- Serena, the tournament's three-time and defending champion -- in the semifinals.

Serena Williams has yet to lose a set in her march toward Saturday's prime-time women's final. On Sunday she became the first to secure a quarterfinal spot, needing just 64 minutes to crush Daniela Hantuchova, 6-2, 6-0.

The victory was an occasion for Williams to don yet another statement T-shirt for her post-match news conference; this one emblazoned with: "Vicious! Ambitious! Delicious!"

For the 24th-ranked Hantuchova, it was another exercise in futility, her career record against Williams now 1-8.

Hantuchova is hardly alone in wilting in the face of Williams's raw power and iron will. Since Clijsters and fellow Belgian Justine Henin retired (in 2007 and 2008, respectively), women's tennis has lacked a worthy challenger to the Williams sisters.

Still, Clijsters was modest about the significance of her achievement Sunday, noting that Venus Williams, who has been competing with her left leg heavily taped, wasn't playing her best.

"I wasn't able to play 100 percent, but I gave my best," said Williams, who has declined to discuss the ailment, identified by her father as tendinitis.

Still, she returned to the court just hours after the loss, teaming with Serena to win a doubles match, 6-4, 6-2.