By TOM A. McFERSON Special to the Daily Press
A strained left leg muscle forced Venus Williams to retire from her semi-final match against Kim Clijsters at the Home Depot WTA Championships Sunday at Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.
The injury also derailed what had seemed inevitable all week: a Williams versus Williams final.
In the second semi-final, Serena Williams struggled but outlasted Jennifer Capriati 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. She will face Clijsters in tomorrow’s final.
Venus Williams, with her left leg heavily bandaged, limped noticeably during warm-ups and the early stages of the match. After quickly falling behind 0-5 in the first set, Williams spoke with the trainer and then informed the chair umpire that she could not continue. She shook hands with Clijsters and quickly left the court, fighting back tears.
Diagnosed as a lower leg strain, the injury occurred during her quarter-final win over Monica Seles. Williams didn’t realize the severity until last night in bed.
“I was just sitting in bed and I realized my leg is hurting,” Williams said. The leg didn’t improve overnight, but that didn’t change Williams’ intention of playing.
"I just wanted to try to see what I could do. This is a championship that I’ve never won or been to the finals.”
It was another blow to tournament organizers, who have been battling poor attendance and lackluster matches all week. An all-Williams final could have been the shot in the arm the tournament needed.
It was a bittersweet win for Clijsters, who believed she had a legitimate shot at beating Venus Williams. She noticed something was wrong with her opponent right from the first point.
“I saw she wasn't moving as well as she normally does. Normally she’s a great mover," Clijsters said.
“I just decided to focus on my serves and to try to make her move,” said Clijsters, who has lost only six games so far in the tournament.
For a while, it looked like it could be a Williams-less final, with Serena dropping the first set to Capriati 6-2. She regained the momentum in the second set and won 6-4, then held on to win the third set 6-4. It was the fifth time this year the two women have played, with Serena winning all five.
Serena will now play fifth seed Kim Clijsters in the final. Serena has seemed erratic and uncomfortable her last two matches. She has also started slowly, barely winning the first set against Jelena Dokic, and losing the first set Sunday to Capriati.
Clijsters, though, appears fresh and has been hitting the ball well, but she hasn’t really been tested. She posted an easy win over weary fourth seed Justine Henin, and only had to win five games before Venus Williams retired. It’s possible there could be an upset in the making, but Clijsters will have to play extremely well to pull it off.
The final begins tonight at 7 p.m. at Staples Center.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 11, 2002. Read the original PDF.