Clijsters falls to Alexandrova in second comeback at US Open

Kim Clijsters (left) and Ekaterina Alexandrova

NEW YORK (Reuters): Three-time champion Kim Clijsters fell at the first hurdle in her second comeback at the U.S. Open when Ekaterina Alexandrova rallied for a 3-6 7-5 6-1 victory to reach the second round on Tuesday.

The Belgian made a blistering start to her first singles match at Flushing Meadows for eight years but was ultimately well beaten by the Russian 21st seed.

Clijsters, who missed last week’s Western & Southern Open with an abdominal injury, left Alexandrova shaking her head in disbelief as she cruised through the opening set in little more than half an hour.

Alexandrova stood firm to level up the contest in a hardfought second stanza, however, and ran away with the third as the 37-year-old mother of three faded on a cool evening.

Clijsters, who won two of her U.S. Open titles after her first comeback in 2009, is still without a win since coming out of retirement for the second time in February but was keen to focus on the positives.

Twenty-one years after her U.S. Open debut and 15 since she first won the title, Clijsters stalked the court with the impatience of a champion and sent back with interest pretty much everything that Alexandrova fired at her.