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Former world No. 1 Kim Clijsters lost her comeback match but she felt happy with the way she performed. Clijsters, who received a wild card into Chicago, lost to Su-wei Hsieh in her opener at the tournament. Hsieh, ranked at No.
97 in the world, handed a 6-3 5-7 6-3 loss to Clijsters in the Chicago first round. "I came close today but still have a good feeling - I've made progression. I think that's the most important thing that I am looking at is that I'm improving overall and that's the positive thing," Clijsters said, per Tennis Now.
Clijsters had her chances
Clijsters started the match with a 3-0 lead but then dropped her serve in four consecutive games as Hsieh won eight games in a row to take a 6-3 2-0 lead. Clijsters broke Hsieh in the third and seventh game to take a 4-3 second set lead but got broken back in the eighth game.
Clijsters claimed her third break of the set in the 11th game and then served out for a decider in the following game. Clijsters recovered from a break down in the third set but then again lost her serve in the eighth game as Hsies served out for the match in the ninth game.
"Going to some of the events and hitting with some of the players just triggered a challenge within myself," Clijsters said during her pre-tournament interview. "That was the main reason, that little trigger of, I wonder if I can get myself in a situation where I can play the tennis I like to play and I know I can play." Clijsters, 38, is drawing inspiration from Andy Murray.
"Seeing Andy Murray and the way he speaks about his comeback and everything, it's so motivating and it gives you a lot of energy too," Clijsters said. "To see him go through the things he's gone through and be open about the challenges of it and the belief that he has, I feel like it's something I can relate to."