Image courtesy of smh.com.au

She is the defending champion and the expectations are high. It is not always an easy situation for the highly favored player to make it through the first rounds, as everybody expects straight and easy wins.

Clijsters played well in her opening match against Hungary’s Greta Arn who is currently ranked 104th. But the Belgian had to overcome a little bit of a lapse in the second set of her 2010 U.S. Open first round match.

She took the first one easily with a 6-0 but then quickly fell behind 4-0 in the second set. Arn was then serving for the set at 5-4 when Clijsters managed to break her opponents serve, eventually closing out the second set with 7-5.

Clijsters recently struggled with hip issues but confirmed in an interview after the match that she feels much better. The number 2 ranked has now won 26 consecutive first round matches at Grand Slam events.

Related posts:

1. Kim Clijsters in 2010 Cincinnati Open Final
2. Kim Clijsters to defend her title at 2010 U.S. Open
3. Kim Clijsters and the 2010 U.S. Open
4. Clijsters defeated in 2010 Rogers Cup semi
5. 2010 Cincinnati Open results