2010 US Open, Day 7: Kim Clijsters Makes Quick Work Of Ana Ivanovic

At one point, Ana Ivanovic was supposed to be the next big thing in women's tennis.

At this point, Ivanovic might settle for winning a few more points against the top tier of her sport.

Second-seeded Kim Clijsters needed just 59 minutes to dispatch the lanky Serbian, 6-2, 6-1, and advance to the 2010 US Open quarterfinals. For Clijsters, the defending US Open champion. it was just another dominant performance at Flushing Meadows in a late-career renaissance.

For Ivanovic, it's something like Exhibit Q in a puzzling plummet that began shortly after she claimed the world No. 1 ranking in 2008. She told the New York Times that nerves were to blame today.

"I think nerves crept in," Ivanovic said. "I just felt like, you know, I was on the big stage again. I didn’t have that feeling for a long time. Lots of emotions came back, and I felt just a little slow and just a little bit, you know, out of it. But she played well. I had my opportunities in the beginning that I didn’t convert, so that was a little bit disappointing."

Clijsters has yet to drop a set in her 2010 Open, and has lost five games or fewer in each of her four matches. She will play either Samantha Stosur or Elena Dementieva in the quarterfinals.

For more, visit SB Nation's tennis blog, The Daily Forehand.