Flipkens one of many big surprises
LONDON — When Kirsten Flipkens found herself on the sideline, her list of true supporters grew thinner by the day.
One of the folks who always remained on that list was another Belgian — Kim Clijsters.
Clijsters was in tears at home, watching on TV, as Flipkens took the next step on a comeback that landed her in the Wimbledon semifinals with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Petra Kvitova on Tuesday.
“Still drying my eyes,” Clijsters tweeted. “So proud of how (at) FlipperKF handled the big occasion for the first time!”
Indeed, the 20th-seeded Flipkens handled the pressure of her first Grand Slam quarterfinal with ease.
It’s been a long road back for the former Wimbledon and U.S. Open junior champion, who was diagnosed with a blood clot in her leg last year, then missed two months and dropped outside the top 250 — so low that she couldn’t even get into Wimbledon qualifying last year.
“Kim was one of the few people still believing in me,” Flipkens said. “I have to thank her. The people believing in me I can count on one hand. It’s amazing.”
Flipkens became the first Belgian to reach the Wimbledon semifinals since Justine Henin in 2007. But her true bond was with Clijsters, the four-time Grand Slam winner who Flipkens credits for reviving her career.
“She’s been there for me through the good and through the bad times,” Flipkens said. “Of course, I have to thank her for still believing in me.”
In the semis Thursday, Flipkens will play No. 15 Marion Bartoli, a 6-4, 7-5 winner over No. 17 Sloane Stephens in a match interrupted by rain with Stephens serving down 5-4 at deuce. After a delay of nearly 2½ hours, Stephens returned, served two points, lost them both and was down a set.
She won her serve only once in the second set and, like that, the last American singles player, man or woman, was gone from a tournament that has produced more than its share of surprises, along with a list of women’s semifinalists nobody could have predicted.
The other semifinal will match No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland against No. 23 Sabine Lisicki, the German who ousted Serena Williams on Tuesday.
In the men’s quarterfinals Wednesday, it’ll be No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 7 Tomas Berdych, No. 2 Andy Murray vs. 54th-ranked Fernando Verdasco, No. 4 David Ferrer vs. No. 8 Juan Martin del Potro, and No. 24 Jerzy Janowicz vs. 130th-ranked Lukasz Kubot. Djokovic is the lone past Wimbledon champion in the bunch.
