Archive for: kim clijsters
After the Australian Open, I cannot help but notice patchy opinions and comparisons of the great players, that in my attempt to analyze the differences.
Kim Clijsters:
Ranking when retired: 4
Retired / Comeback: May 2007 / Mid 2009
1st tournament: QF defeated by Safina
2nd tournament: 3rd round by Jankovic
3rd tournament: Champion
Playing style: Baseline basher / deep ground strokes
Pressure: no expectations
Justine Henin:
Ranking when retired: 1
Retired / Comeback: Mid 2008 / Jan 2010
1st tournament: Final defeated by Clijsters
2nd tournament: Final defeated by Williams
3rd tournament: ?
Playing style: Variety with precision
Pressure: Huge pressure to replicate Kim
If by looking at the facts, Kim has come back strong as first appearance in grand slam, but far from it that Henin is less impressive in the second tournament only. No doubts Clijsters’ form was seemingly better when she played in US open but her style of playing is probably easier to pick up in a shorter timeframe backed with strong physical training, as opposed to Henin’s style which needs to come with time to tune in the accuracy of each shot in her complexity of game plan.
On the other hand, Clijsters came back without much expectation of winning as a wildcard by others, as such that with her brilliance she stormed everyone by surprise when she reached the final and passed through Serena. By the time Henin arrived to Australian Open, all eyes were on her to make the same progress. But mind you, then everyone on tour was alert on this potential dangerous wildcard, with Serena especially increased additional training on the morning of their final.
Not to mention the road to QF in the first week was especially testing for Henin to beat very strong and upcoming players, than those of Clijsters on route to US open’s 2nd week. The winning of the final often depends on who your opponent is. Caroline, the first time finalist compared to Serena, who flourishes and plays her best at final.
The pressure on Henin was, thus far from anyone could bear, being known and kept advertised as the former number 1 to do a miracle on her second tournament back. With that mental and physical torture, how she was able to still stay focused and at ease with herself and played with such sparks on court, that in itself speaks volume.
And what about Williams when everyone seems to be showering praises that she is greatest ever? Who could remember when Williams came out from injuries in 2004, it took her some time, actually years to recover her form and regained number one again in September 2008 after Henin retired.
Then, given the magnificent runs of the two Belgians, why is everyone urging them to be at the top of rank again within a year? My only answer is that if people are longing to give the number one to someone more worthy? Or purely women’s tennis was at such a stale stage that people are yearning for some quality games and change of hands at the very top?
Be patient, and there time will tell (and it is too early to tell), if any one of the Belgians will be able to return to top form consistently in the coming years and if Williams will not be threaten by them. My bet is, Henin has the mind and body to come back stronger than ever.
Kim and Justine
As the news broke that Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin would not be competing for Belgium in the February 6-7 Fed Cup tie against Poland many fans on the forums questioned Kim and Justines’ tenacity. Clijsters, who fell to Nadia Petrova in the 3rd round of the Australian Open 0-6 1-6 had let it be known that she “needs a fresh period to build up training” to “make it impossible to compete in the Fed Cup.” said the Belgian federation. Henin, the Australian Open finalist had already stated that it is too early in her comeback to play a best of five series.
Many fans have expressed anger at a lost opportunity to see these two women compete, but both women have expressed their desire to continue playing tennis on their own terms. Their respective returns to competition have already seen a grand slam victory and grand slam runner-up, deepening the field in the womens’ game. Both players know how gruelling the tour can be and will be looking to enjoy their time in competition. Avoiding injuries will be paramount if the best is yet to come and given their results in their 2.0 Grand Slam debuts, the future is bright.
For those fans hungry to see more of Justine, her next outing will be Indian Wells. Kim’s next match will be The Billie Jean King Cup at Madison Square Garden on 1st March.
Kim Clijsters has capped a great return to womens tennis with a 7-5 6-3 win in the final of the US Open over Caroline Wozniacki. Kim received a wildcard into the event in which now she goes from being unranked in the world to the Number 19 player in the world according to projections.
Nevertheless, congrats to the 19-year-old Wozniacki for making the finals and becoming the first Dane, man or woman, to reach the finals of a Grand Slam in the Open Era.
Congrats to Kim Clijsters the 2009 US Open Womens Singles Champion
I love the consistency of womens tennis, but I still find it funny how you can have a match in which you win the first set 6-0 and then lose the next set 6-0!
Currently in the female game I think that there are still 3-4 key players who seem to be in the finals of every tournament they play, but I do think the depth of the womens game is getting a lot better of late. At this years US Open we have seen the return of Kim Clijsters (in which it is great to see her back on court), who has been playing very well and now finds herself in the quarterfinals. However, the point of this article is to discuss how in Kim’s last match she won the first set 6-0 against Venus Williams, but then quickly lost the next set 6-0. It is great to see that Kim sorted herself out to drive through the final set 6-4 to book her place in the quarterfinals. However, do these kind of results still show how hot and cold some women tennis can still be?
It might come as a surprise to tennis fans that the player who may invigorate the slumping women’s tennis tour (discounting the Williams sisters) may not be a flashy, grunting teenager, but instead, a veteran 26-year-old mother. Kim Clijsters, the 2005 United States Open champion and former world No. 1, will make her return to the W.T.A. next month at the Western & Southern Financial Group Women’s Open in Cincinnati.
Clijsters has been slowly warming herself up for the summer hard courts of America since announcing that she was coming out of retirement in late March of this year. She played a Wimbledon exhibition in May against Steffi Graf, then handily beat Michaella Krajicek, a former top 30 player, in another exhibition last month. This month, Clijsters will return to American soil on the World TeamTennis stage, playing for the St. Louis Aces. In the spring of 2007, Clijsters retired at 23 after winning one major, 34 tour titles and holding the top ranking for 19 weeks. She cited boredom, injuries and the desire to start a family as reasons for stepping away from the game.
Yesterday afternoon I sat down to watch the Wimbledon Centre Court showcase in which they unveiled the new retractable roof.
The sliding, canvassed roof barely had time to shut Sunday for the All England Club’s grand opening — or closing — of the new structure before the rain starting pouring down over south London. In the same kind of weather that has forced so many rain delays in the past, the Centre Court then hosted a televised tennis spectacle in perfect conditions.
“It’s a real treat to be able to play in these conditions inside, when it’s been so miserable, cold, windy and wet outside,” said Tim Henman, who teamed with Kim Clijsters to play married couple Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf in doubles and singles matches.
It now seems as though no fans will ever have to head home again if they hold a Centre Court ticket. The 15,000 spectators and invited guests had a great opportunity to feel first hand how the atmosphere will feel during the Wimbledon main event. 
“The conditions were really good,” Clijsters said. “And I love the sound. Wimbledon already had that, where you feel like when [the crowd is] really into the match, the sound really comes down to the players. And now even more so with the roof. For the players, it just feels like they’re right there next to you.”
Agassi also said the closed surrounding will take the atmosphere to a new level.
“The sound was magnificent,” he said. “I think when you get two people out there who can really play, and move and hit the ball, I think you’re going to feel a level of titanic battle that you haven’t seen yet. … That’s an environment that lends itself to some spectacular tennis.”
The roof is perhaps the biggest change to come to the 87-year-old tennis cathedral, and marks a remarkable break with tradition by the famously conventional All England Club.
The roof takes about 10 minutes to close, and the Centre Court’s ventilation system then needs about 30 minutes to get moisture out of the air and create the right conditions. During short rain showers, organizers still plan on using the traditional covers on the court to create shorter breaks. Once the roof is up, it will not open up until a match is over.
After finally getting the roof completed, Ian Ritchie, the chief executive of the All England Club, said he wouldn’t be surprised to see perfect weather at this year’s tournament. But that’s just fine with him.
A few days ago it was announced that Kim Clijsters would be returning to womens professional tennis. Kim has had a few years away from the game and im sure she will come back with a bang. I hope Kim performs a lot better than Lindsay Davenport and Martina Hingis when they return from retirement.
In the couple years Kim was away from tennis she has got married and even had a baby. So this time round she will have a lot more life experience and maturity on court and hopefully this will lead to more outstanding results.
The Belgian has mentioned that it will be a tentative return. She will play three tournaments—Cincinnati, Toronto and most notably, the US Open.
Overall it will be very interesting to see how she fair against the like of the Williams sisters and the young girls who are currently on tour.
