Kim Clijsters of Belgium celebrates a point against Venus Williams of the U.S. during their match at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, September 6, 2009. REUTERS/Shaun Best

For every tennis player a grand slam is a chance for glory, a chance for history, and sometimes a chance for redemption. In only one way can a player’s thoughts and beliefs be realized, by winning. And that’s exactly what Kim Clijsters of Belgium and Rafeal Nadal of Spain achieved today on Arthur Ashe Stadium court at the US Open.

Clijsters announced her comeback with a 6-0, 0-6, 6-4 win over Wimbledon finalist Venus Williams. Using her trademark defensive skills and excellent depth on her groundstrokes Clijsters forced the error prone Williams into hitting extra shots each and every point. At times, the tennis was lopsided due to sharp momentum shifts, but in the end the 2005 US Open champion Clijsters proved to be the steadier of the two ladies. After spending over two years in retirement, the Belgian hasn’t missed a beat since returning to the tour just three weeks ago. Look for her to continue her success against Na Li of China in the round of 16.

Rafael Nadal defeated fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 7-5, 6-4, 6-4. Most call this match survival for Nadal, I’m going to call this match the “Rope-a-Dope.” That’s right. Nadal showed flashes of his brilliant speed and defense with very little focus on his ailing knee tendinitis. However, its a new worry on the world #3′s mind, a strained abdominal muscle. The strain seemed to affect Nadal at certain times, but Nadal is no chump. The strain actually turned into a positive for him as he changed up his game and started to be more aggressive earlier in the baseline rallies resulting in a high quality style of tennis that resembled his championship form from earlier this year. When Nadal is aggressive on some points and then highly tenacious and defensive on the big points, he becomes well rounded and extremely dangerous for opponents on the other end. Either way he’s going to fight to the bitter end and it’s going to take a monumental effort to knock him out of the tournament. Look for Nadal to continue to improve his consistency in his quality of play and teach Gael Monfils a lesson in aggressive, but controlled hardcourt tennis in the round of 16. Enjoy the matches!

Rafael Nadal of Spain hits a return to compatriot Nicolas Almagro at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York September 6, 2009. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque