※ [本文轉錄自 NED-BEL-LUX 看板] 作者: okk (︿(@￣o￣@)︿) 看板: NED-BEL-LUX 標題: Williams, Clijsters Set for Spectacular QF in Antwerp 時間: Sat Feb 19 09:44:31 2005 February 16, 2005 Williams, Clijsters Set for Spectacular QF in Antwerp ANTWERP, Belgium - In the most-highly anticipated quarterfinal at this week's Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp, two former World No.1s are now set to face another for the first time in almost 20 months. No.3 seed Venus Williams and unseeded Kim Clijsters will face one another for the first time since Wimbledon in 2003 when they square off in the round of eight at the Belgian indoor event. Williams advanced to the quarters with a 63 60 victory against French wild card Virginie Razzano. "I'm very happy to be back here," Williams said. "I'm quite happy with the way I played today. I've been practising hard since Saturday and (Razzano) is a tricky opponent. She plays quite fast and gives the ball a good hit, so I'm happy to get it over as quickly as that." Meanwhile, Clijsters had a little more of a challenge on Wednesday, needing three sets to defeat No.5 seed Nadia Petrova, 75 67 61. "I played well tonight," Clijsters said. "I think I surprised myself in how well I've done so far. It's a long time since I played someone that highly ranked - at the Australian Open last year I think. "My backhand's held up really well and tonight was a good test for it. I'm so glad to be back - it's been a very hard few months, but wins like this and just being out on the court again make it so much more enjoyable." Between 2001 and mid-2003, Williams and Clijsters met seven different times on court with the American player winning in five of those meetings. But due to injuries sustained by both players, the two haven't been on opposite sides of the net in quite a while. "I'm looking forward to playing Venus," Clijsters said. "It's just like old times again. Hopefully we'll both play many more times this year. What ever happens in that match, I've exceeded my expectations thus far." The quarterfinal battle between Williams and Clijsters will not only be a matchup between two former No.1s, but also a meeting between the winners of the last three Antwerp titles. Williams won in both 2002 and 2003, while Clijsters won last year's event. Joining Williams and Clijsters in the quarterfinals was No.7 seed Patty Schnyder, who defeated French qualifier Camille Pin, 63 46 61. Schnyder will face either top seed Amelie Mauremo or Mary Pierce in the next round. In a repeat matchup from last week's Open Gaz de France semifinal, France's Tatiana Golovin was able to avenge her defeat to Russia's Dinara Safina last Saturday with a 64 67 63 victory in the first round. Safina was able to pull out a tough victory against Golovin last week and eventually defeated Mauresmo in the final. Now, Golovin advances and will face No.2 seed Anastasia Myskina in the next round. In other first round action, lucky loser Claudine Schaul defeated Belgian wild card Els Callens, 63 64. After the match, Callens announced that this will be her last year to compete on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. She'll play through the year and finish her career in Hasselt late in the season. --

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