Clijsters continued to reach the quarterfinals, beating two other top 20 players – Patty Schnyder and number 6 Svetlana Kuznetsova – along the way.
The following week in Toronto, she shocked the world No.9 Victoria Azarenka before Jelena Jankovic, fourth place, eventually stopped her in the third round, although 7-5 in the third set.
Both the speed with which Clijsters had reached this competitive level, and the caliber of the opponents he was batting, were incredible.
But what he did at the US Open overshadowed all of this.
Clijsters dropped just two sets along the way for his second main title, playing with a devastating combination of athleticism, power, consistency and psychological freedom during the fabulous two weeks at Flushing Meadows.
Five of his seven victims – Bartoli (again), Venus Williams, Li Na, Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki – were at the time, or would have become, the same Grand Slam champions.
