Wimbledon: Kim Clijsters won her opening match in her return to Wimbledon, beating Maria Elena Camerin, 6-0, 6-3 on Monday.
The match was the first at Wimbledon since 2006 for Clijsters, who returned from a 2½-year retirement last August and won the US Open in September. She has been hampered since late April with a left foot injury, but had plenty of spring in her step playing the opening match on Court 2.
Seeded eighth, Clijsters dominated from the baseline and with her return. She never faced a break point and won 12 of 15 points on Camerin's second serve.
The tournament began under partly cloudy skies, with temperatures headed into the mid-70s (24 C), but things quickly turned gloomy for Camerin.
The Italian, ranked 121st, finally won a game with the help of a shot from her knees. She slipped and fell at the baseline, then punched back a shot before rising to continue the rally, which she won. She also won the next point for 1-all in the second set.
Otherwise, Clijsters was in control. She lost only 10 points in the opening set and closed out the victory in 65 minutes.
Since 2000, Clijsters has won 25 consecutive first-round matches in Grand Slam tournaments. Her best efforts at Wimbledon were in 2003 and 2006, when she reached the semifinals.
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