7/9/2001
Another Stellar Wimbledon for Clijsters
For young Belgian player Kim Clijsters, Wimbledon has become a home for her. A home is more than just a house. It's a secure shelter where one feels in place or at ease. For the third straight year, the 18 year old has reached amazing heights on the green grass at London.
Clijsters, seeded 7th, was a favorite coming into the tournament. After having gotten to the final of the French Open and the warm-up tournament in Rosmalen the week before Wimbledon, the Belgian continued her roll of success in London. She reached the quarterfinals to a dissapointing 6-1 6-2 loss to Lindsay Davenport. Up until that match however, Clijsters hadn't lost a set.
Clijsters and her boyfriend Lleyton Hewitt pulled out of mixed doubles despite their final showing last year, however she stayed in ladies doubles with her good friend Ai Sugiyama of Japan. The friendship along with an all-court game doubled apparently worked, for the couple got to the final this year. They lost to Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs 6-4 6-3, but still gave it a good fight and enjoyed every second of the final match.
"[Stubbs and Raymond] have a lot of experience, they've been playing very long together, so they know how they have to play. The volleys they were playing were always low. It wasn't easy for us to win points," said Clijsters after the match.
Doing well in Wimbledon has become a tradition for Clijsters. In 1999, Clijsters qualified for Wimbledon. It was her first year as a pro and even her first Grand Slam. Despite that, Clijsters reached the 4th round where she lost to her idol Steffi Graf. En route to the loss, she upset Amanda Coetzer in the 3rd round. As mentioned before, Clijsters and Hewitt made the mixed doubles final of Wimbledon in 2000 where they lost to Donald Johnson and Kimberly Po.
If the trend continues, then Clijsters is doomed to reach the finals of the ladies' singles next year! It's certain Clijsters wouldn't mind. Constantly praising the history and tradition of Wimbledon, Clijsters must look forward to this prophecy.
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