Comeback mum Kim Clijsters has spent more time breastfeeding than playing tennis in the last two years, but on Thursday still managed to add a reigning grand slam champion to her list of victims at the Cincinnati Open.
In her first tournament since April 2007, the Belgian — who does not even have a world ranking — dispatched French Open champion and world No. 6 Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
Were that not noteworthy enough, she immediately set her sights on a bigger trophy: world No. 1 Dinara Safina.
“It’s going to be tough,” the 26-year-old mother of one said, smiling at the understatement. “I mean, she’s had very consistent results.”
Kuznetsova went the same way as 13th-ranked former Wimbledon runner-up Marion Bartoli and world No. 20 Patty Schnyder as Clijsters maintained her outstanding form to reach the quarter-finals.
Yesterday’s match with Safina will be another step up, but Clijsters said she felt in the kind of form and shape that will allow her to perform well against the world’s top-ranked player.
“I have to say I feel really good,” Clijsters said after outslugging Kuznetsova in a match where her athleticism and stamina helped her survive the deciding set.
“I don’t feel tired or drained or anything. Just a few little aches and pains from getting back into playing matches. Your body adjusts. It’s aches and pains but nothing’s holding me back from playing well and doing what I want to do,” she said.
“There are patches where my level is really good and also there are a few dips. I’m not saying I didn’t have that in the past, but that’s something ... I would definitely try to stay a little more consistent out there,” Clijsters said.
Safina said Clijsters seemed to be playing as well as she had been before quitting two years back.
“She’s a great player. I think for sure she plays exactly how she did,” the Russian said. “You cannot lose your talent. You cannot lose anything. If you are a great player, it doesn’t matter. Give [Pete] Sampras a racket now and he will play exactly the same. Maybe she will be a little bit slower, but she’s still young.”
Clijsters won her sole grand slam title at the US Open in 2005.
She says she has put in so much fitness work that she thinks she will be able to play consistently at a high level once more.
“I worked really hard on my fitness,” she said. “Physically, I know that I don’t have to worry about that unless there are some injuries.”
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