Clijsters ends singles career with early loss
Source: AFP |
August 31, 2012, Friday
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KIM Clijsters' singles career ended where she wanted it to, just not the way she hoped.
The four-time grand slam champion lost 6-7, 6-7 to 18-year-old Laura Robson of Britain in the second round of the US Open on Wednesday, and will head into retirement after she finishes playing in doubles at Flushing Meadows.
Clijsters walked away from the sport once before, in May 2007, then returned after a 2-and-a-1/2-year hiatus. But now 29 and a mother, the Belgian insisted this season that she means it this time, and decided the US Open - and its hard courts that she conquered on the way to three championships - would be her final tournament.
"It's the place that has inspired me so much to do well and to do great things. It's hard to explain sometimes why," Clijsters said in an on-court interview, her face flushed and her eyes welling with tears. "This completely feels like the perfect place to retire," Clijsters told the spectators at Arthur Ashe Stadium. "I just wish it wasn't today."
"It's definitely disappointing to see her retire because she's such a great addition to the women's game," Robson said. "She has always been someone that I've looked up to since I started on the tour. She's always been incredibly nice to be around. I think we're all going to miss her."
It's praise like that which proved more emotional to Clijsters than the fact that the time had come to bid adieu.
"I got a little bit emotional there. It was very nice to hear those things from another player," Clijsters said. "It does something to you when you hear other players talk about me like that. I've played players that I spoke to and they said that I inspired them. That's a great feeling, because I was once in that situation as well. It's not just the tennis side of things that you think about now. It's about life. We've had a lot of things happen in these last 15 years that I've been on tour. I'm able to look back at them and I'm very happy with the progress that I've made."
The people she has touched are a who's who of tennis, from the perseverance she showed before winning her first grand slam title at the 2005 US Open through her first retirement and her comeback victory at the 2009 US Open after only two tune-up events.
"She has been a great inspiration to me personally," World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka said. "What she did to come back and win a major after two tournaments back was an amazing accomplishment and really inspiring."
The four-time grand slam champion lost 6-7, 6-7 to 18-year-old Laura Robson of Britain in the second round of the US Open on Wednesday, and will head into retirement after she finishes playing in doubles at Flushing Meadows.
Clijsters walked away from the sport once before, in May 2007, then returned after a 2-and-a-1/2-year hiatus. But now 29 and a mother, the Belgian insisted this season that she means it this time, and decided the US Open - and its hard courts that she conquered on the way to three championships - would be her final tournament.
"It's the place that has inspired me so much to do well and to do great things. It's hard to explain sometimes why," Clijsters said in an on-court interview, her face flushed and her eyes welling with tears. "This completely feels like the perfect place to retire," Clijsters told the spectators at Arthur Ashe Stadium. "I just wish it wasn't today."
"It's definitely disappointing to see her retire because she's such a great addition to the women's game," Robson said. "She has always been someone that I've looked up to since I started on the tour. She's always been incredibly nice to be around. I think we're all going to miss her."
It's praise like that which proved more emotional to Clijsters than the fact that the time had come to bid adieu.
"I got a little bit emotional there. It was very nice to hear those things from another player," Clijsters said. "It does something to you when you hear other players talk about me like that. I've played players that I spoke to and they said that I inspired them. That's a great feeling, because I was once in that situation as well. It's not just the tennis side of things that you think about now. It's about life. We've had a lot of things happen in these last 15 years that I've been on tour. I'm able to look back at them and I'm very happy with the progress that I've made."
The people she has touched are a who's who of tennis, from the perseverance she showed before winning her first grand slam title at the 2005 US Open through her first retirement and her comeback victory at the 2009 US Open after only two tune-up events.
"She has been a great inspiration to me personally," World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka said. "What she did to come back and win a major after two tournaments back was an amazing accomplishment and really inspiring."
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