US Open champion Kim Clijsters suffered a midnight defeat at the 220,000-dollar WTA Luxembourg tournament when Swiss veteran Patty Schnyder won their second round clash 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (8/6). Clijsters, the second seed, was bidding for a sixth title in this event, and second tournament victory since her return from two years of retirement.
Schnyder, the world number 47, had beaten Clijsters just twice in their eight prior meetings, and one of those was because of an injury retirement. But she battled for almost two hours, recovering from a lost 5-3 lead in the third set and then regrouping after letting go a 4-0 lead in the tie-break.