Belgian women hope for all Belgian final at US Open
( 2003-08-25 15:38) (Agencies)
Before the U.S. Open began, Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne wanted
to make one thing clear: they are not two bickering Belgians.
Justine Henin-Hardenne [L] and Kim Clijsters
[R]
They're the tournament's top two seeded players battling, thank you, and they
say any perceived problems between them are nonsense.
"There's no tension, I think there's rivalry," said Clijsters, the No.
1-seeded woman in a field that saw defending champion Serena William and big
sister Venus withdraw because of injuries.
Earlier this month, Henin-Hardenne rallied for a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory over
Clijsters in the Acura Classic, a rematch of the French Open final.
The pair differed on whether Henin-Hardenne needed the injury timeout she
called at the end of the first set to have a trainer retape a blister on her
right foot.
Clijsters clearly implied that Henin-Hardenne used the
five-minute break to recover from a poor first set. She also said it helped
Henin-Hardenne rebound in the second.
Henin-Hardenne, who beat Clijsters 6-0, 6-4 in the French Open to become the
first woman from Belgium to win a Grand Slam singles title, denied using
gamesmanship.
The two are tied for the lead on the women's tour with six singles titles in
2003.
"It's unbelievable for a little country to have two players Nos. 1 and 3 in
the world," Henin-Hardenne said Sunday. "But I think it's not very important.
Kim has a lot of fans. I have a lot of fans. We are just two different kinds of
players, two different kinds of personalities."
Both Clijsters and top-seeded men's player, Andre Agassi, had laid back
practice sessions the day before the start of the Open.
The 20-year-old Clijsters hasn't won a Grand Slam title, and this seems to be
as good a time as any to do it. The Williams sisters split the past four Open
championships.
While hitting with Jelena Dokic, Clijsters spun around at the end of an
exchange trying to hit a ball, and kicked a ball in fun, too.
Clijsters' boyfriend, former No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt, will follow her into
Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday to face Victor Hanescu. Hewitt (the 2001 champion)
and Agassi (1994, 1999) are the only men entered who have won the U.S. Open.
Agassi watched Sunday as two straight serves buzzed by him for aces — and a
bit of disbelief showed on the face of the world's top-ranked player and the
best returner of his generation.
He walked toward his hitting partner, Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia, shaking his
head as they changed over in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
"It's amazing how these linesmen see, huh?" Agassi said with a smile.
The 33-year-old Agassi, the oldest No. 1 player in rankings history, faces
Spain's Alex Corretja in his first-round match Tuesday.
No. 4 Andy Roddick also has Monday off, while those scheduled to play include
third-seeded Lindsay Davenport, Amelie Mauresmo and French Open champion Juan
Carlos Ferrero.
A lot of attention, though, will be focused on someone without a racket: Pete
Sampras. He hasn't played a match since beating Agassi in last year's final at
the National Tennis Center and is formally announcing his retirement Monday
night.
Davenport canceled her scheduled practice session Sunday because of a
troublesome left foot.
The injury forced Davenport to retire midway through the championship match
of the Pilot Pen against Jennifer Capriati on Saturday.
Davenport drove from New Haven, Conn., to New York on Saturday and was
examined by a U.S. Open doctor, who gave her a cortisone shot.
She has been struggling with a painful nerve disorder in her left foot and
was noticeably limping against Capriati, who was leading 6-2, 4-0 when Davenport
walked to the net and ended the match.
"She has been advised by doctors to stay off her feet today," Davenport's
agent, Tony Godsick, said Sunday. "She has every intention of playing in the
U.S. Open."
