NEW YORK — With the vast majority of its stars teetering this year, the women’s game needed a player to step up and challenge the ferocious and occasionally overly aggressive Serena Williams, who had won three of the last four majors.
It could ha
ve been one of the talented yet fragile Russians, like Maria Sharapova, Elena Dementieva, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Dinara Safina, or one of the enigmatic Serbians, Jelena Jankovic or Ana Ivanovic. But for a variety of reasons, none were up to the task on a consistent basis at the majors, much less at the U.S. Open, so in stepped former No. 1 Kim Clijsters, just 18 months past the birth of her daughter, Jada, and itching to get back to competition.
A daughter of a former soccer star, Clijsters was born to run, bred to compete, taught to pound the tennis ball. She returned to the tour in just as good shape, wiser, more aware of her weapons and her options on the court. She had few of the nerves that saw her lose four Slams finals earlier this decade, and maybe was a bit more hungry.
And just like that in New York, down went seven-time Slam champ Venus Williams, down went the raging 11-time Slam titlist Serena (see First Serve) and in the final, down went the ambitious Danish teenager Caroline Wozniacki 7-5, 6-3. The bubbly yet bold Belgian became the first mom since Evonne Goolagong at ‘80 Wimbledon to win a major.
“This is something that in my wildest dreams I could never imagine happening,” said Clijsters, who also won the ‘05 U.S. Open.
Her comeback run went full circle in just six weeks, with Clijsters beginning the trip in Cincy with a tight loss to No. 1 Safina and ending it smiling broadly like only a new parent can, watching Jada prancing around the court after the trophy presentation and playing with sparkling silver trophy.
“It’s a surprise, but her level isn’t a surprise because she’s such a big talent who doesn’t need a year to get to her best level,” her coach, Wim Fisette said. “She needed a few matches, but I knew she could do it at the Open. She went every day to practice and then to play with Jada and she didn’t have the time to think about that she had to play Serena or a final, because she was busy with Jada. It was perfect for her mind.”
It was Clijsters’ knowledge of the conditions and newfound love of the tight moments that brought her to the crown. In the final, she had to battle swirling winds and a backboard of an opponent, one who shared athletic genes. Like Clijsters dad, Lei, Wozniacki’s father, Piotr, played pro soccer and she too can run like a deer and counter scoring barrages. Leo died last year with Kim at his side, but Clijsters could sense that his spirit was still with her.
“You feel his presence,” she said. “It’s not just me, it’s my sister [Elke], it’s [her husband] Brian. We very strongly feel his presence. That’s something that’s very comforting , but it’s also a little sad. I really believe in signs. So there has been so many things that have happened in these last few weeks, or even in the last months where we feel like, Okay, he’s watching over us, and that’s just a nice feeling.”
Maybe Lei Clijsters was telling his daughter that Wozniacki cannot power forehands to the corners like Kim can, or consistently place heated balls around the service box that take her off balance. The Dane has a sweet and significant two- handed backhand, but when asked to go to offense, often hesitates, while Clijsters knows very well that if a player fails to take the initiative when called upon, that she’ll often fall short of her goals.
Clijsters kept hammering away at Wozniacki’s weaker forehand side and it eventually broke down. After winning the match, she dropped to the ground in celebration and began to cry with joy. She climbed into the Friends’ Box to hug her husband, Brian Lynch, as well as Fisette, her trainer, Sam Verslegers, and some friends.
They were by her side when she began practicing at the start of the year and couldn’t run for more than 30 minutes at a time. They were there when she rapidly improved, on court and in the gym. They saw the belief grow inside that she could not only stymie the quick kids like Wozniacki, but take down the once feared Williams sisters, who used to own her.
“Kim was always an unbelievable player,” Fisette said. “But she’s better now. She’s more complete, aggressive and became physically stronger. She felt she had more power because she was stronger, and hitting hard became like hitting normal. I kept telling her you can hit as hard as Serena, so just show it and over power her.”
With the victory, Clijsters rose to No. 19 in the rankings. As long as the 26-year-old stays healthy, she’ll be a significant threat at the majors. It’s unlikely that Clijsters will choke like she once did against her in- country rival, Justine Henin, who is now retired but who is said to be practicing again. The Belgian needed a break, and a chance to achieve her off court desire to start a family. Now she’s back with a far better understanding of her possibilities on the court.
“At that time I didn’t look at it that way,” Clijsters said. “But maybe now I’ve become a lot more understanding of myself, you know how to deal when different emotions come up. Maybe that’s something when you’re young, you get nervous. As an example, beating Venus. Maybe in the past I would have been maybe influenced a little about good results and then had the lack of that focus a little in the next round. So even the situation with Serena, those are things when you’re 18, 19, can have a big impact on you. Now I know myself a little bit better. That’s the biggest difference.”
