The second-seeded Belgian beat Hungary's Greta Arn 6-0, 7-5 in the first round Monday. She fell behind 4-0 in the second set, and the 104th-ranked Arn had a chance to serve out the set at 5-4. But Clijsters got the break, then did it again to clinch the straight-set victory.
"I'm just glad to finish that second set off and not let it go three sets," she said.
Story continues below ↓advertisement | your ad hereClijsters said she had some trouble adjusting her strokes when she was playing with or against the wind. What wasn't troubling her much was the left hip that bothered her during a tuneup tournament earlier this month.
A year ago, Clijsters was a wild-card entry in only her third tournament back after 2 1/2 years away from the sport. Now she's one of the favorites to win the Open.
Melanie Oudin and Francesca Schiavone also know how quickly perceptions can change. Oudin struggled with higher expectations since her crowd-pleasing run to the U.S. Open quarterfinals last year. So did Schiavone after her breakthrough French Open title in June.
But neither showed any signs of the pressure in cruising to dominant first-round wins.
Oudin, the 18-year-old from Marietta, Ga., needed just 56 minutes to beat Olga Savchuk of Ukraine 6-3, 6-0. Schiavone, the Italian who won her first Grand Slam weeks before her 30th birthday, dispatched Ayumi Morita of Japan 6-1, 6-0 in 58 minutes.
If anything, Schiavone seems to be having fun in the spotlight. Asked why she's a fan favorite, she playfully replied, "I attract them because I'm beautiful."
Schiavone acknowledged that maybe she's a bit more motivated at a Grand Slam than at other tournaments. She was pleased that her first-round match was in the grandstand -- a year ago, she was relegated to an outer court.
"I like to do it, because adrenaline is coming up and I enjoy much more than play in faraway court," she said with a laugh. "Maybe because I am 30 years old and now I want to enjoy with people."
Also in action on Day 1 were former No. 1s Dinara Safina and Ana Ivanovic, as well as Sam Stosur, who lost to Schiavone in the French Open final.
Aug. 24: Tiffany Simons and Harry Cicma look at the women's draw of the upcoming U.S. Open.
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The 43rd-ranked Oudin won the last nine games against Savchuk, a 143rd-ranked qualifier. Oudin's success last year earned her the opening match in Ashe, where the sparse crowd gave her a warm ovation when she took the court a little after 11 a.m.
Oudin snapped a four-match losing streak and won for only the fifth time in her past 18 matches. A year ago, she became the darling of the tournament, upsetting Maria Sharapova and Elena Dementieva en route to becoming the youngest U.S. Open quarterfinalist since Serena Williams in 1999.
Schiavone, seeded No. 6, had been just 3-6 since winning at Roland Garros. She lost in the first round at Wimbledon and dropped her opening match at three other tournaments. Her only three victories came against opponents outside the top 65.
Schiavone had no difficulty against the 83rd-ranked Morita, facing just one break point and hitting 28 winners.
Russia's Dementieva, the No. 12 seed, also advanced easily, beating Olga Govortsova of Belarus 6-1, 6-2.
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