Belgium's Stock Rising with Clijsters and Henin
Kim Clijsters is 18 and a Grand Slam finalist. She played one
of the memorable finals in French Open history, losing, 12-10, in the third set
to Jennifer Capriati. The sixth-ranked Clijsters also had another career
breakthrough on Sunday in the Stanford final, beating Lindsay Davenport for the
first time in five matches.
Justine Henin is 19 and a Grand Slam
finalist. She ended Capriati's dream of a Grand Slam in the Wimbledon semifinals
and then lost to Venus Williams in three sets.
Clijsters was supposed to
be better on grass but reached her first Slam final on clay. Henin first
succeeded on clay but got to her first Slam final on grass. So, an authority was
consulted on the two Belgian teenagers. Another budding Belgian star was sought
for his opinion. But Xavier Malisse wasn't sure how to answer this question: Who
will have a better career, Clijsters or Henin?
Malisse shook his
head.
"Both are great people," he said. "But I wouldn't put five cents on
it. It's a close call."
Instead of looking ahead, the modest Clijsters is
intent on staying grounded. After the French Open, she noticed the other players
were regarding her differently.
"When I was ranked 50 and I played those
top players I really wanted to show I could beat them," she said. "Now it's even
harder. That's what I have to be careful about. I won't take anything
easy."
Clijsters was doing the interview from Palo Alto. She has been
busy, beating Davenport and losing earlier this month to Iroda Tulyagonova on
clay in Belgium, and will be at the Acura Classic, which starts today at La
Costa Spa & Resort in Carlsbad. Clijsters is seeded fifth behind Martina
Hingis, Williams, Capriati and Davenport. Williams won the tournament last
year.
The event will be the first for Hingis since her disastrous
first-round loss at Wimbledon and also the first appearance in almost six months
for fan favorite Anna Kournikova, who has been sidelined by an injured foot
since February.
Fittingly, Hingis and Kournikova are playing doubles
together again. Evidently, they have patched up their
differences.
Clijsters is content to stay out of the headlines, though
she is dating Lleyton Hewitt, a top player on the ATP tour.
"Since we are
both very involved in tennis, I don't think we talk about tennis much," she
said. "That's very good. We have some other things to think of."
She is
practical and takes a mature approach to her job.
"I've been starting to
travel since I was 13," Clijsters said. "I was always the youngest player when I
was in the 14s. My friends were 17 and 18--that has a lot to do with it. We
shared things and had to be by ourselves."
The professional approach also
comes from her father, Leo, who was a star soccer player for the Belgian
national team. She joked that she is known as his daughter, although younger
kids might now know him as her father.
Of her biggest moment, she said
she has not watched a tape of the Capriati match and doesn't intend to do so. "I
don't really watch matches," Clijsters said. "I like to watch other people. I
don't know why. My dad never watched himself playing soccer. That's what he
tells me. Maybe that's why I don't watch my matches."
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