After two great matches, Kim Clijsters hit a brick wall against Victoria Azarenka today after the Belarus upset the 5th seed Belgian in straight sets. Azarenka won, 7-6, 6-4, though the match was a lot tighter than the scores.
The Belarus needed a bunch of set points in the first set to win. She had three alone when Clijsters went down 0-40 in the first set while down 3-5.
Azarenka only needed one break in the second to win. She joined Samantha Stosur and Marion Bartoli in the semifinals.
Both players needed three sets to advance. Stosur knocked off Elena Baltacha, 6-7, 6-1, 6-0, while Bartoli suffered a challenge from Maria JM Sanchez, winning, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6.