Clijsters aims for first slam as new No1
(Guardian)
Updated: 2003-08-12 09:29

Kim Clijsters, newly crowned world No1, believes she is ready to win her first grand slam title at the US Open starting in a fortnight.

"It motivates me very much," Clijsters said yesterday of the honour after becoming the first Belgian to claim the top ranking in the sport.

By ousting the reigning US Open champion Serena Williams, currently out of action after knee surgery, from the No1 spot, Clijsters became the first player to lead the list without winning a grand slam since WTA rankings were introduced in 1975.

"The US Open will be tough because, without Serena playing, there will be a lot of players who think they have a bigger chance to win. But I like the challenge," said the 20-year-old Clijsters.

At Flushing Meadows, Clijsters will not only be out to win her first grand-slam title but also to take revenge on her compatriot, Justine Henin-Hardenne, who defeated the new world No1 en route to becoming French Open champion in June.

It has to be said that the Williams sisters have slipped down the list only because of absences through injuries, and Clijsters has rarely got the better of them. However, the Belgian's popularity on the Tour has generated plenty of positive comments.

Martina Navratilova has said: "If and when she [Clijsters] becomes No1, she will definitely deserve it," said the woman who once held that position for 331 weeks. "That's because she has had the best year overall," Navratilova added. "She's very consistent and has won a whole bunch of tournaments, so she's earned it."

Lindsay Davenport, whom Clijsters beat in Sunday night's JP Morgan Chase Open final in Los Angeles to ascend to the pinnacle, echoed that view. "It's a huge accomplishment - she's obviously deserved it," the American said.

Yet this was an curious comment by Davenport considering that when the American became year-end world No1 in 2001, she reckoned that she did not deserve it because of her failure to win a grand slam that year.

A year ago Clijsters had a long-lasting shoulder problem and was often playing through the pain. Her unpalatable options seemed to be to play less or risk an operation which might keep her out for a year.

But she has recovered wonderfully, partly by working much harder at getting significantly fitter and stronger. It helped to be able to work with the fittest on the men's Tour, Lleyton Hewitt and his trainer Roger Rasheed. "I don't like being the weak girl in the middle," Clijsters has said.

The physical improvement carried her to nine titles in the past 12 months - more than anyone - the most notable being the 2002 year-end championship, where she beat Henin-Hardenne, Venus Williams and Serena Williams in successive matches. A less obvious but more revealing statistic is that Clijsters has reached the semi-finals of all 14 events she has played this year.

Consistency is her middle name. "I don't know how to feel - I am a bit confused," Clijsters told the Los Angeles crowd after winning the final and reaching the top.

Perhaps there was a dash of scepticism here. For in the Australian Open she could not beat Serena Williams, at the French she could not beat Henin, and at Wimbledon she could not beat Venus Williams.

Now Serena, who had been No1 for 57 weeks, is out for two months and doubts about Venus's future after a series of injuries continue to circulate.

Clijsters can certainly claim she has managed injury better than the Williams sisters. It is power that mostly prevails but, for now, it is not at all the same as being the world's best player.

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