All-Belgian final Down Under
Source: Agencies |
January 9, 2010, Saturday
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KIM Clijsters will meet Justine Henin in a highly anticipated all-Belgian final of the Brisbane International after both won their semifinals yesterday in Australia.
Top-seeded Clijsters beat Germany's Andrea Petkovic 6-4, 6-2, hours after seven-time Grand Slam title winner Henin swept past Ana Ivanovic 6-3, 6-2 to secure a spot in the final of her first tournament since returning from retirement.
Henin leads Clijsters 12-10 in head-to-head matches after winning their past three meetings -- all in 2006.
"I don't think anybody, anywhere around the world, especially Belgium, even our own groups and teams ... ever expected to see this again," Clijsters said. "It's real exciting. It's going to be an interesting one again. It's, you know, back to the old days."
Henin quit in May 2008 when she held the No. 1 ranking. She announced her comeback last September, soon after the 26-year-old Clijsters won the US Open in her third tournament back after more than two years in retirement.
"It's always special when I play Kim. It's a day I like a lot," Henin said. "That's what a lot of people hoped for and expected.
"We've had a lot of great fights over the years. But a lot of things happened to her, a lot of things happen to me. It's going to be a different situation."
Men's top seed Andy Roddick fired 16 aces in a 6-3, 7-6 (5) win over Frenchman Richard Gasquet to move into a semifinal against fourth-seeded Tomas Berdych, who beat eighth-seeded Thomas Bellucci of Brazil 7-6 (4), 2-6, 7-6 (3).
This is Roddick's first tournament since injuring his knee in October and he faces singles and doubles -- he is partnering James Blake -- today.
"I wanted to come here and play well, get better with each match and get matches in. That's my biggest thing," he said. "I'd love to win here. The goal is to be prepared for Melbourne and I feel like that has been accomplished for the most part.
"Now it's the business end of the tournament, you want to try to go as far as you can."
Push each other
Defending champion Radek Stepanek will take on Frenchman Gael Monfils in the other semifinal today, before the women's final in the night session on Pat Rafter Arena.
During her time off the tour, Clijsters got married and had a child.
Clijsters thinks that they can help each other progress in the rankings.
"In the past, we've pushed each other to become a better player and hopefully we can keep that going and make the Belgians be on top of women's tennis again," she said.
Clijsters said she knew ahead of the announcement that Henin planned to return to the tour, and suspected her oldest rival would quickly be a force.
Henin had some trouble with her first serve but otherwise was too consistent for the 2008 French Open champion and former world's No. 1 Ivanovic, who was playing her first tournament since September.
Henin, 27, said she'd already surpassed her expectations for the tournament as a wild card entrant.
Top-seeded Clijsters beat Germany's Andrea Petkovic 6-4, 6-2, hours after seven-time Grand Slam title winner Henin swept past Ana Ivanovic 6-3, 6-2 to secure a spot in the final of her first tournament since returning from retirement.
Henin leads Clijsters 12-10 in head-to-head matches after winning their past three meetings -- all in 2006.
"I don't think anybody, anywhere around the world, especially Belgium, even our own groups and teams ... ever expected to see this again," Clijsters said. "It's real exciting. It's going to be an interesting one again. It's, you know, back to the old days."
Henin quit in May 2008 when she held the No. 1 ranking. She announced her comeback last September, soon after the 26-year-old Clijsters won the US Open in her third tournament back after more than two years in retirement.
"It's always special when I play Kim. It's a day I like a lot," Henin said. "That's what a lot of people hoped for and expected.
"We've had a lot of great fights over the years. But a lot of things happened to her, a lot of things happen to me. It's going to be a different situation."
Men's top seed Andy Roddick fired 16 aces in a 6-3, 7-6 (5) win over Frenchman Richard Gasquet to move into a semifinal against fourth-seeded Tomas Berdych, who beat eighth-seeded Thomas Bellucci of Brazil 7-6 (4), 2-6, 7-6 (3).
This is Roddick's first tournament since injuring his knee in October and he faces singles and doubles -- he is partnering James Blake -- today.
"I wanted to come here and play well, get better with each match and get matches in. That's my biggest thing," he said. "I'd love to win here. The goal is to be prepared for Melbourne and I feel like that has been accomplished for the most part.
"Now it's the business end of the tournament, you want to try to go as far as you can."
Push each other
Defending champion Radek Stepanek will take on Frenchman Gael Monfils in the other semifinal today, before the women's final in the night session on Pat Rafter Arena.
During her time off the tour, Clijsters got married and had a child.
Clijsters thinks that they can help each other progress in the rankings.
"In the past, we've pushed each other to become a better player and hopefully we can keep that going and make the Belgians be on top of women's tennis again," she said.
Clijsters said she knew ahead of the announcement that Henin planned to return to the tour, and suspected her oldest rival would quickly be a force.
Henin had some trouble with her first serve but otherwise was too consistent for the 2008 French Open champion and former world's No. 1 Ivanovic, who was playing her first tournament since September.
Henin, 27, said she'd already surpassed her expectations for the tournament as a wild card entrant.
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