Clijsters: Serena's Injury Is The Real Deal
NEW YORK (AP) -- Kim Clijsters said she saw Serena Williams' foot lacerations and "it's not something that she's making up or that it's a small cut or anything."
Williams, the world's top-ranked player, withdrew from the U.S. Open after surgery on her right foot. The WTA Tour has said she cut it on broken glass at a restaurant. Williams hasn't had much to say other than releasing a few statements, leading to plenty of speculation.
After she was hurt, Williams played in an exhibition match against Clijsters that drew a tennis-record crowd of 35,681 in Brussels on July 8.
Clijsters said Monday that Williams actually had cuts on both feet, but she doesn't recall whether they were on the top or bottom.
It was against Clijsters in last year's Open semifinals that Williams went on a tirade against a line judge over a foot-fault call. That led to Williams losing the match and receiving a record fine.
Williams isn't back this year, but Clijsters is, defending a Grand Slam title for the first time. She won the U.S. Open in 2005 but missed the tournament the next year because of a wrist injury.
In her first match as the reigning champion Monday, the second-seeded Belgian beat Hungary's Greta Arn 6-0, 7-5.
DENT'S DIET: American Taylor Dent has no illusions of pulling a Mardy Fish and losing more than 30 pounds. Dent, who is listed at 6-foot-2, 195 pounds, wants to improve his conditioning, but he said he has found he's just not meant to be skinny.
"I've heard that my whole career," the 29-year-old said Monday. "You know, `Taylor is too heavy.' I have tried desperately to drop weight. I mean, it's just I'm a big guy."
The 6-2 Fish is down to 170 pounds and has credited that for his recent strong play.
Dent said that in 2005, he was 215 pounds and just over 6 percent body fat.
"I mean, where am I going to lose more weight?" he said.
"So I've kind of given up in a sense to say, `OK, I'm not going to weigh 180 pounds; I'm not going to weigh 175 pounds. I'm not going to be like these guys,'" he added. "So I just have to be stronger, I have to be more physical on the court, and I have to bully them around."
Dent beat Alejandro Falla of Colombia 6-4, 7-5, 6-1 in the first round.
Among other American men, ninth-seeded Andy Roddick beat Stephane Robert, Michael Russell lost to sixth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko, Robert Kendrick lost to 17th-seeded Gael Monfils, Tim Smyczek lost to 26th-seeded Thomaz Bellucci and Ryan Sweeting lost to Ricardas Berankis.
On the women's side, third-seeded Venus Williams beat Roberta Vinci, Melanie Oudin defeated Olga Savchuk, Irina Falconi lost to 19th-seeded Flavia Pennetta, and Vania King beat fellow American Christina McHale.
RODDICK ON ROCKET: Andy Roddick grew up watching a generation of baseball stars now embroiled in accusations and confessions about steroids. The American spoke as a sports fan the day Roger Clemens was arraigned on federal charges of lying about his performance-enhancing drug use.
"It's just an ugly scene right now," Roddick said. "And, you know, if he's innocent, it (stinks) because he is guilty in the court of public opinion. If he is guilty, it's really unfortunate because you don't want to see someone kind of in denial."
STREAMING MATCHES: Fans will be able to watch all matches played on the five television courts live online for free during the Open. More than 200 matches will be available, including the men's and women's finals.
The five courts are Arthur Ashe Stadium, Louis Armstrong Stadium, the Grandstand, Court 11 and Court 13. The live streaming will be available in the United States on USOpen.org. The feeds will also have a DVR function.
MONFILS AT HOME: France's Gael Monfils, seeded 17th, was pushed to five sets by American qualifier Robert Kendrick. Monfils won 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-4 against Kendrick, who is ranked 148th in the world.
Fans were chanting, "USA! USA!" But Monfils said he didn't feel as though Kendrick had the home-court advantage.
"I love USA, so for me doesn't matter," Monfils said. "I can share with them because I love the USA. For me it was more distraction, was more to relax and enjoy a bit, maybe to think about something else. So for me, it was great."
© 2010 by STATS LLC and Associated Press.
Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.
