Kim Clijsters aims to seal victory for Belgium against Bethanie Mattek-Sands in round one of the Fed Cup.
Day one of the tie made fairly miserable viewing for American tennis fans with the Belgians predictably utterly dominant. Mattek-Sands went down 6-1, 7-6 to world number 26 Yanina Wickmayer and then recently crowned Australian Open champion Clijsters, powered past Melanie Oudin 6-0, 6-4.
"I've been resting well and staying awake during the day to exercise and practice," Clijsters said. "(Oudin) seemed a little overwhelmed with the whole situation . She was better in the second, but I was able to play the important points well."
Unless there is a major shock, Clijsters should win this one comfortably to seal victory for Belgium in front of her adoring home fans. Mattek-Sands has improved a lot in the past twelve months and has made a fairly decent start to the season but she was outclassed against Wickmayer and should stand little chance against the world number two.
They played once last year in Montreal with Clijsters struggling a little against the American's unorthodox game before coming through 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
However she is currently riding a wave of confidence after her latest Grand Slam triumph and it will be a surprise if she does not win in straight sets.
