It took only 59 minutes for defending champ Kim Clijsters to beat Russian Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 6-1. This was the worst pouncing of a tennis player since Chris Evert won 6-3, 6-0 against Evonne Goolagong.

The come-back queen of tennis is 27-years old. Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is the first woman to hold onto the US Open title since Venus Williams in 2001.

Kim is the third woman to win two Grand Slams as a mother, one shy of the record by Margaret Court.

Ms. Clijster's family is full of athletes. She is the daughter of Lei Clijsters, a former soccer player, and Els Vandecaetsbeek, a former national gymnastics champion. Her dad, Lei Clijsters, died of lung cancer last year. Kim says that "she inherited footballer's legs from her father and a gymnast's flexibility from her mother." wikipedia.  Kim's younger sister Elke finished 2002 as the ITF World Junior Doubles champion and retired in 2004 after back injuries.

Kim summed up what is needed to win tennis tournaments - strong legs and flexibility. Your exercise should include short bursts of jumping and sprinting so get out your jump rope. It isn't easy to jump rope for more than a minute or two but gradually add to that time.

You will also want to get your feet moving side to side. Practice fast grapevines (See the video.) to accomplish that.

You have to have endurance so when you are working out - whatever it is you've chosen - don't quit when you are tired. Push yourself a little more and then a little more and then a little more.

Check out USTA New England - "To Promote and Develop the Growth of Tennis."

New England Senior Tennis Association

New England Tennis Umpires Association

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