Laura Robson of Great Britain played spoiler Wednesday evening, winning in two competitive sets over three-time U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters.
The 18-year-old Robson won by scores of 7-6, 7-6 (5).
Clijsters, 29, had said this would be her last Grand Slam tournament in the singles draw. She is still entered in the women's doubles and mixed doubles draw.
The Belgian had won the championship the last three times she played the U.S. Open (2005, 2009, 2010). She missed the other years due to her first retirement, and last year due to injury.
Her victory in 2009 came after childbirth and the death of her father.
"This completely feels like the perfect place to retire, I just wish it wasn't today," Clijsters said in the courtside interview, which was interrupted by a prolonged ovation from the crowd.
The popular Clijsters also won the 2011 Australian Open among her eight appearances in Grand Slam finals.
Robson advances to face 2011 French Open winner Li Na of China, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over Casey Dellacqua of Australia.
Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak is also out of the U.S. Open.
The Blainville, Que., native lost 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 to No. 15 seed Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic in the second round.
The 48th-ranked Wozniak had three aces and broke on four of eight chances, but she lost serve seven times.
Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., is the lone Canadian remaining in either singles draw.
Wozniak got off to a rough start as she lost serve in the opening game against Safarova. She went down 4-1, but got a break back for 3-5 before losing serve again to end the set in 45 minutes.
Wozniak fought back in the second to tie the match but Safarova regained control in the third.
"The second set was more steady for me, I was focusing on serve so much, I knew that was the key," said Wozniak. "But my serve didn't go that smooth at all."
Wozniak said the weather was a challenge.
"The third set was disappointing, especially with three double faults which let her get to 4-2," she said. "The sun was high, there was the wind as well — all the elements, not to mention the humidity.
"For sure it was tough to lose this three-set battle."
The defeat ends a Grand Slam season that saw Wozniak lose in the second round at every major except the French Open, where she reached the third round.
"I really wanted to beat that French record. I wish I could have done better here," she said. "But my Paris record still stands."
Azarenka advances
She's the world's top-ranked player and the Australian Open champ, but Victoria Azarenka has never advanced past the fourth round on the hard courts at Flushing Meadows
No hint of her past struggles in her first two matches this year, though. Azarenka beat qualifier Kirsten Flipkens 6-2, 6-2 in 65 minutes in the second round Wednesday, and has lost just five games through her first two matches.
"I don't feel like I have to prove something," Azarenka said.
She hasn't made it beyond the third round as a top-10 seed in each of the last three years. In 2010, she collapsed on court after hitting her head before her second-round match. Last year, seeded fourth, she had the bad luck of drawing 28th-seeded Serena Williams in the third.
"The next match is going to be the usual match for me. I don't have anything that, you know, it's the third round or I have to win that I didn't the last two years," Azarenka said.
Next up is 28th-seeded Zheng Jie of China, who beat Magdalena Rybarikova 6-3, 6-1.
Ferrer flies through
It was another quick, predictable result in a tournament with few upsets or even nail-biters yet.
David Ferrer opened his tournament with a result befitting a top-four seed. Ranked fifth, Ferrer moved up a spot because fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal is out with knee problems. Ferrer beat 34th-ranked Kevin Anderson of South Africa 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (3).
It was potentially a tough first-round matchup for Ferrer: Anderson made the third round at Flushing Meadows each of the last two years. But Ferrer was in control throughout, facing just three break points — all in the third set — and saving all of them.
"It was not easy match, no, with Anderson," Ferrer said. "He's a really good player. He's very strong first and second serve. I'm happy."
Highest-ranked American male John Isner let out a big exhale of relief while waving to the crowd after getting past an argumentative Xavier Malisse 6-3, 7-6 (5), 5-7, 7-6 (9) Wednesday in a suddenly tight first-round match at the U.S. Open.
The 6-foot-9 Isner hit 20 aces and ended the match with a service winner on his third match point. He was given that last match point when Malisse pushed an easy backhand volley into the net. Malisse grabbed the ball and shoved it in his mouth and chomped on it as though it were an apple.
Seconds later, the No. 9-seeded Isner wrapped up the victory, improving to 37-13 in tiebreakers this season.
Malisse exchanged angry words with spectators and the chair umpire at various points during the match.
Returning to Flushing Meadows after a seven-year absence brought about by a series of operations, 27-year-old Brian Baker, from Nashville, Tenn., moved into the second round by beating 92nd-ranked Jan Hajek of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 on Wednesday.
"I remember several years, watching it on TV, wishing I was here, so just to be here is an awesome feeling," said Baker. "And then at the same time, the competitive side kicks over, and I want to do really well."
Baker began the year ranked 458th but is now 70th.
He's endured five operations since being a junior star. The list includes a second left hip procedure, another on his right hip, a sports hernia repair, and reconstructive surgery on his right elbow that is increasingly common among baseball pitchers and is known as Tommy John surgery.
Next up for Baker is a second-round match against eighth-seeded Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia.
Tipsarevic needed more than 3 ½ hours to win his opener Wednesday, coming back after dropping the first two sets to eliminate Guillaume Rufin of France 4-6, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2.
Other top players on the court later Wednesday include the third-seeded Sharapova and Andy Murray.
In other results:
- Igor Sijsling, Netherlands, def. Daniel Gimeno-Traver, Spain, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.
- Grega Zemlja, Slovenia, def. Ricardo Mello, Brazil, 7-5, 7-6 (3), 7-5.
- Cedrik-Marcel Stebe, Germany, def. Viktor Troicki (29), Serbia, 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
- Janko Tipsarevic (8), Serbia, def. Guillaume Rufin, France, 4-6, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2.
- Jarkko Nieminen, Finland, def. Mikhail Kukushkin, Kazakhstan, 6-0, 6-2, retired.
- Leonardo Mayer, Argentina, def. Lukasz Kubot, Poland, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5.
- Gilles Muller, Luxembourg, def. Mikhail Youzhny (28), Russia, 2-6, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (6).
- Benoit Paire, France, def. Grigor Dimitrov, Bulgaria, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-2.
- Lleyton Hewitt, Australia, def. Tobias Kamke, Germany, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-4.
- Richard Gasquet (13), France, def. Albert Montanes, Spain, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3.
- Tommy Robredo, Spain , def. Andreas Seppi (26), Italy, 6-1, 7-5, 6-3.
- Ernests Gulbis, Latvia, def. Tommy Haas (21), Germany, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-3.
- Steve Johnson, United States, def. Rajeev Ram, United States, 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3.
- Juan Martin del Potro (7), Argentina, def. Florent Serra, France, 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-4.
Women
- Nadia Petrova (19), Russia, def. Simona Halep, Romania, 6-1, 6-1.
- Mallory Burdette, United States, def. Lucie Hradecka, Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-4.
- Zheng Jie (28), China, def. Magdalena Rybarikova, Slovakia, 6-3, 6-1.
- Lucie Safarova (15), Czech Republic, def. Aleksandra Wozniak, Canada, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.
- Varvara Lepchenko (31), United States, def. Anastasia Rodionova, Australia, 6-2, 6-2.
- Mandy Minella, Luxembourg, def. Kristyna Pliskova, Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-4.
- Petra Kvitova (5), Czech Republic, def. Alize Cornet, France, 6-4, 6-3.
- Pauline Parmentier, France, def. Yanina Wickmayer (25), Belgium, 7-6 (5), 6-3.
- Kristina Mladenovic, France, def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (17), Russia, 6-1, 6-2.
- Anna Tatishvili, Georgia, def. Sorana Cirstea, Romania, 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-2.
Source: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
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