Clijsters Not Upset After Losing to Srebotnik

It was difficult to tell the winner from the loser Tuesday after Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia upset fifth-seeded Kim Clijsters of Belgium, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, in the second round of the JPMorgan Chase Open in Manhattan Beach.

Srebotnik, of course, was delighted with the victory over a player who reached the French Open final last year, calling it the best result of her career.

Clijsters, meanwhile, seemed almost grateful to be out of the draw.

After reaching the final at Stanford two weeks ago and the quarterfinals at Carlsbad last week, she said she was a little fatigued.

“It’s not nice to lose and of course you feel disappointed,” said Clijsters, who has been bothered by a nagging shoulder injury, “but I think in the next few days I can practice a little bit and not do too much. I won’t have the pressure of going out to play. I’ll have a few days off.

“I’ll try to do well in the doubles, but then I’ll rest for Montreal [next week’s WTA tour stop]. Also for the U.S. Open. You don’t want to play too much.”

Jennifer Capriati, seeded second, seemed intent on limiting her time on the court too, following Clijsters and Srebotnik onto the hard-court surface and dispatching Emmanuelle Gagliardi of Switzerland, 6-1, 6-2, in 56 minutes.

Making her Manhattan Beach debut, Capriati was dominant.

“First time here so it was good to come out and play well, not being familiar with the court,” Capriati said. “I liked it. Good crowd. Intimate, cozy atmosphere out there. And the fans were great and the court was a good speed.”

Third-seeded Lindsay Davenport, a three-time winner in this event and the defending champion, also found the court to her liking, although she undoubtedly spent a lot more time on it than she had hoped.

Continuing her comeback from January knee surgery, the three-time Grand Slam event winner held off 83rd-ranked Elena Bovina of Russia, 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-3, in the featured night match at the Manhattan Country Club.

Davenport, a semifinalist the last two weeks in her first tournaments since November, needed more than two hours to make it through to the third round. Serving for the match in the second set, she was broken by Bovina, who then won the tiebreaker too, but Davenport regained control in the third set.

Like Clijsters, Davenport said she could use a break. Her surgically repaired right knee is fine, but she said she suffered a pulled left groin last weekend and is bothered by a recurrence of tendinitis in her left wrist.

“I feel terrible,” she said. “I’m not going to lie. I have more tape on my body than I ever have.... Just little things here and there, the result of playing too much.”

Srebotnik and Clijsters had played only once since Srebotnik (pronounced zree-BOT-nik) defeated the Belgian to win the Wimbledon junior title four years ago.

Since their 1998 meeting at the All England Club, Clijsters has flourished while Srebotnik has floundered. In their only previous meeting as professionals, Clijsters smoked the redheaded Slovenian, 6-1, 6-1, on a carpet in Luxembourg in 1999.

“She got support when she was younger,” Srebotnik said of Clijsters, an established top-10 player. “It was difficult for me in Slovenia. Nobody really supported me financially. The tennis association never really helped me.”

Srebotnik, 21, ended last season ranked 98th, with the modest aim of breaking into the top 60 this year. But after reaching the final in two tournaments (and winning on clay at Acapulco in March), she has climbed to 43rd, the highest in her career, and is on the verge of cracking the top 40.

“I didn’t give myself any huge goals,” she said. “I was just going step by step. Whatever comes more, it’s better. I’m so happy for that.”

With more than $800,000 in tour winnings, she’s on more solid ground financially and, after failing for a long time to find a coach compatible with her, she finally settled a year ago on countrywoman Tina Krizan, who is also her doubles partner.

“I just wanted to prove to myself that I can beat these top players if I play well, so that was what I was trying to do today,” Srebotnik said. “I’ve played a lot of matches really tight against top players but never really made it.

“This is good for my confidence.”

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Featured Matches

STADIUM COURT, 10 A.M.

* Alexandra Stevenson vs. Deja Bedanova; Janette Husarova vs. Meghann Shaughnessy; Daniela Hantuchova vs. Eleni Daniilidou; Jelena Dokic vs. Tina Pisnik.

GRAND STAND, 10 A.M.

* Maria Gaiane Mikaelian vs. Anne Kremer; Iroda Tulyaganova vs. Nathalie Dechy; Amanda Coetzer vs. Anna Smashnova; Elena Dementieva vs. Ai Sugiyama.

STADIUM COURT, 7 P.M.

* Serena Williams vs. Lina Krasnoroutskaya.