Even though she has not played a competitive match in nearly two months and has consistently said that clay is the surface which she finds most challenging, no. 2 Kim Clijsters is many analysts' pick to win her first Roland Garros.
Not only is the powerful Belgian a media favourite, she is also considered the player to beat by one of her main rivals, Maria Sharapova, who won the red clay title in Rome last week.
"She's someone that's a great champion, who won the last couple of Grand Slams and is No. 2 in the world," said Sharapova, who is not coincidentally in Clijsters' quarter. "She's certainly the one to beat here. It's always difficult to not play for a few weeks and come back as a Grand Slam being your first tournament, but she has a tremendous amount of experience. This is not the first time that she's come back after having a long lay-off. She's been able to do really well when she's taken time off, so you can never count her out."
Clijsters has not played since the tournament in Miami as a week later, she tore ligaments in her ankle dancing at her cousin's wedding. Reports had it that the four-times Grand Slam champion's ankle buckled because she was wearing high heels, but that was not the case for the footloose and fancy-free Clijsters.
"A lot of people thought I was in high heels, but I was in bare feet, because I couldn't dance in my high heels," said the Belgian. "So then I landed on another girl's foot and I twisted my ankle. Then while I'm walking off, limping, somebody stepped on the outside of my little toe as well, and I still have a problem there. I was having a really good time until then!" she grinned.
Clijsters was considered doubtful for Roland Garros, but she pushed herself in rehab and now has a chance to win a title that has always eluded her, despite going deep on a number of occasions. In 2001 as an unknown 17-year-old, she swept to the final, beating fellow Belgian Justine Henin in a tight three-setter in the semis before falling dramatically to Jennifer Capriati 1-6, 6-4, 12-10. Two years later she reached the final again, but this time Henin turned the tables on her and crushed her 6-0, 6-4. She played the tournament twice more before she taking "maternity leave", going down to Lindsay Davenport in three sets in 2005 and to Henin again in the semifinals in 2006. She has not played the tournament since, as last year she was forced to withdraw with a left foot injury.
She many have felt a bit snake-bitten after the wedding, but did her utmost to make sure that she could have another go at the title, even though she will be playing with heavy strapping on her ankle. Roland Garros is a tournament she perhaps should have won in the past, and given that she has triumphed in three out of the five Grand Slams she has contested since returning after the birth of her first child in the summer of 2009, it is perhaps one she should win now - something that she is very aware of.
"It's very special," Clijsters said. "I was here last year to watch [fellow Belgian] Kristen Flipkens play. I had a practice on centre court yesterday, and it was a lot of fun and exciting. I felt like a little girl again - it was a nice feeling to have."
Given the fact that she grew up on clay, it is somewhat remarkable over her long career that Clijsters has won just three of her 41 titles on clay. She likes the purer bounce of hard courts, where she can pivot into a quick stop and pound her groundstrokes deep into the corner, rather than having to slide into her strokes. Part of her lack of faith in her game on clay is mental however, since the same combinations that saw her wins three US Open crowns and the 2011 Australian Open could fit nicely onto dirt, namely playing the angles, hustling on defence and working her way gradually into the court until she can get a ball she can let rip.
"I enjoy the challenge more now," the 27-year-old concluded. "I know why I never felt that comfortable - because of the movement - but I feel it's the same for everybody. I enjoy the challenge of trying to win every rally and trying to battle for each rally."
Not only is the powerful Belgian a media favourite, she is also considered the player to beat by one of her main rivals, Maria Sharapova, who won the red clay title in Rome last week.
"She's someone that's a great champion, who won the last couple of Grand Slams and is No. 2 in the world," said Sharapova, who is not coincidentally in Clijsters' quarter. "She's certainly the one to beat here. It's always difficult to not play for a few weeks and come back as a Grand Slam being your first tournament, but she has a tremendous amount of experience. This is not the first time that she's come back after having a long lay-off. She's been able to do really well when she's taken time off, so you can never count her out."
Clijsters has not played since the tournament in Miami as a week later, she tore ligaments in her ankle dancing at her cousin's wedding. Reports had it that the four-times Grand Slam champion's ankle buckled because she was wearing high heels, but that was not the case for the footloose and fancy-free Clijsters.
"A lot of people thought I was in high heels, but I was in bare feet, because I couldn't dance in my high heels," said the Belgian. "So then I landed on another girl's foot and I twisted my ankle. Then while I'm walking off, limping, somebody stepped on the outside of my little toe as well, and I still have a problem there. I was having a really good time until then!" she grinned.
Clijsters was considered doubtful for Roland Garros, but she pushed herself in rehab and now has a chance to win a title that has always eluded her, despite going deep on a number of occasions. In 2001 as an unknown 17-year-old, she swept to the final, beating fellow Belgian Justine Henin in a tight three-setter in the semis before falling dramatically to Jennifer Capriati 1-6, 6-4, 12-10. Two years later she reached the final again, but this time Henin turned the tables on her and crushed her 6-0, 6-4. She played the tournament twice more before she taking "maternity leave", going down to Lindsay Davenport in three sets in 2005 and to Henin again in the semifinals in 2006. She has not played the tournament since, as last year she was forced to withdraw with a left foot injury.
She many have felt a bit snake-bitten after the wedding, but did her utmost to make sure that she could have another go at the title, even though she will be playing with heavy strapping on her ankle. Roland Garros is a tournament she perhaps should have won in the past, and given that she has triumphed in three out of the five Grand Slams she has contested since returning after the birth of her first child in the summer of 2009, it is perhaps one she should win now - something that she is very aware of.
"It's very special," Clijsters said. "I was here last year to watch [fellow Belgian] Kristen Flipkens play. I had a practice on centre court yesterday, and it was a lot of fun and exciting. I felt like a little girl again - it was a nice feeling to have."
Given the fact that she grew up on clay, it is somewhat remarkable over her long career that Clijsters has won just three of her 41 titles on clay. She likes the purer bounce of hard courts, where she can pivot into a quick stop and pound her groundstrokes deep into the corner, rather than having to slide into her strokes. Part of her lack of faith in her game on clay is mental however, since the same combinations that saw her wins three US Open crowns and the 2011 Australian Open could fit nicely onto dirt, namely playing the angles, hustling on defence and working her way gradually into the court until she can get a ball she can let rip.
"I enjoy the challenge more now," the 27-year-old concluded. "I know why I never felt that comfortable - because of the movement - but I feel it's the same for everybody. I enjoy the challenge of trying to win every rally and trying to battle for each rally."
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