Kim Shows Again She is a Champion

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Blasting past an overmatched Vera Zvonareva , Kim Clijsters won her third U.S. Open title. Clijsters thus makes it straight back to Ozeki (=Champion) for the third time in career. With three grand slam titles and seven final participants she is now clearly the strongest female Ozeki of the open era. Her career stats are in fact already better than those of Yokozuna (=Grand Champion) Jennifer Capriati, and comparable to those of Lindsay Davenport. One wonders whether a Yokozuna promotion may be still in the cards for Clijsters. A tournament victory down under in January would do it for her, as would two more slams at any venue.

Amidst all the well-justified enthusiasm about the charming Belgian, one should not oversee that Zvonareva earned an Ozeki promotion for herself, owing to back-to-back final participations at Wimbledon--where she lost to Yokozuna Serena Williams, who sat the U.S. Open out injured--and now here at Flushing Meadows. Zvonareva is the 30st female Ozeki of the open era. The last two Ozeki before her, Ana Ivanovic and Dinara Safina, could not hold Champion level following their promotions. One hopes Zvonareva will fare better than them.

The sole participating Yokozuna Venus Williams--apart from Serena also Justine Henin sat the tournament out--did well, reaching her first grand slam semifinal since Wimbledon 2009, where she lost a close encounter to Clijsters. This secures Venus active Yokozuna status for at least another year. By contrast, Elena Dementieva exited in round 4, hence losing Ozeki status for the third time in her career. She will join the other semifinalist (and last-year finalist) Caroline Wozniacki at Sekiwake (=Junior Champion I) rank, as well as the French Open finalists Francesca Schiavone and Samantha Stosur (her 4th round victor), who both made it to the quarterfinals. Kaia Kanepi will complete the Sanyaku lineup as Komusubi (=Junior Champion II)--the first time in Kanepi's young career that she makes it to championship rank. Put precisely, Kanepi is the 56th female Komusubi of the open era.

In the mens' tournament, long-standing Ozeki Novak Djokovic prevented an all-Yokozuna final by beating Roger Federer in five sets. In the final Rafael Nadal is waiting, in a quest to complete a career grand slam. Nadal has looked ferocious thus far at the U.S. Open.