Feature: 2004 Australian Open News

Final : Great Final, but Henin-Hardenne too tough for Kim

In the third Grand Slam final between the two Belgians, the victor was once again Henin-Hardenne, but it could so easily have been a different result this time as the game veered first one way, and then the other.  

Both girls had started off a little nervously, and yet both were also playing some great tennis, so it was a fascinating encounter played out in the early hours of the morning for those watching from Europe.  The weather was somewhat cold for Melbourne in the summer at 18 or 19 degrees, though the roof had been opened some 30 minutes before the start of the match.  The players were both looking fit, with no sign of Kim's injury.  We were set for a great final, and we got one, complete with a little bit of controversy.

In the fifth game of the opening set, Kim's serve was broken for the first time, and Justine held her own service to love in the next game, to establish a 4-2 lead; she went on to take that set by six games to three.

In the second, Justine quickly established another 4-2 lead, and it began to look like this might be yet another two set game.  After all, neither girl had had to play three sets in any game in this tournament.  But Kim dug deep and pulled the set around with all the determination she had used to pull off similar feats in the second sets of the semi and quarter finals.  Four straight games for Kim saw the initiative swing her way as she took that second set by six games to two, helped no doubt by the backing of the Australian crowd.

So for the first time in the 2004 Australian Open, both girls were into a third set, and everyone was on the edge of their seats to see how it would develop.  It was Justine's turn to take four straight games, and it looked as if she could cruise to  an easy victory.  The crowd roared for the the Clijsters recovery to start once again, and she didn't let them down;  Kim took three straight games, and might have got a fourth, but unfortunately couldn't capitalise on two match points on her serve in the eighth game.  And before she could get a third opportunity to level the set and the match the controversy struck.  A tremendous, confident drive by Kim hit the baseline, but amazingly was called out to hand a vital 5-3 lead to her opponent.  With Kim still reeling, Justine simply had to server out for the match which she duly did.

As in many sports, the difference between the very best players is wafer thin, and of course you make your own luck. Clearly Belgium can be very proud that they have two players producing such great tennis.  Justine may have won the third major encounter between the two and her third Grand Slam Tournament win, but it really wasn't by very much.  No doubt Kim will soon taste victory as well, and become the champion that she clearly deserves to be.

Semi Finals : Tough second set victory for Kim

In very similar circumstances to her quarter final against Myskina, Kim Clijsters took set one in her semi against Patty Schnyder 6-2, and then went on to lose the first four games of the second set, clearly having problems with her ankle.  And just as she did against Myskina, she battled back to take the second set to a tie break which she won 7-2, a result which means that despite the problems with her ankle, she hasn't dropped a single set on her way to the final.

The reward for toughing out these games is that the second seed meets her compatriot Justine Henin-Hardenne in the final once again, and Kim will hope to be victorious this time, having lost both of the two previous Grand Slam final encounters.  She's clearly in a very determined mood so there's every possibility that this will be Kim's year, despite the obvious difficulties her ankle is giving her.

Henin-Hardenne's route to the final seemed to be a less difficult affair, as she won her semi against Fabiola zuluaga 6-2, 6-2.  Afterwards she expressed how much she was looking forward to playing Kim in the final round once again.

Quarter Finals : Tough second set victory for Kim

As expected the quarter final match against Anastasia Myskina was a much tougher affair than the earlier rounds for Kim Clijsters.  It even looked as if the Belgian might be forced to retire in the second when for the first time in any set so far this year she was 4-0 down, and her injured ankle was obviously giving her trouble even though she had won the first set 6-2.  But she won the next game, and then called for an injury break to have the the trainer strap her troublesome ankle.  Amazingly she then pulled back the second set, and even had two match points on her opponent's serve at 6-5 which she failed to capitalise on, so it was 6-6 and into a tense tie break which Kim won to prevent the match going to a third set.  She admitted afterwards that it would have been very hard to win the match had it gone to a third set.

Kim faces a tough challenge  to get the injury under control before her next match which will be a semi final against Switzerland's Patty Schnyder who made the semi's of a grand slam for the first time by beating Lisa Raymond 7-6, 6-2 in their quarter final.  The American was said to be very disappointed to lose after her victory over Venus Williams in the third round.

In the other half of the draw, the semi will be between Justine Henin-Hardenne and Fabiola Zuluaga.  The Columbian of course had a bye into this match by virtue of Amelie Mauresmo's withdrawal from the tournament after her round four game, and Henin-Hardenne kept alive the possibility of another all Belgian final with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over the number 5 seed, Lindsay Davenport.

Round 4 : 6-3 6-3 Clijsters

Kim Clijsters pulled off yet another straight sets victory as she beat Silvia Farina Elia 6-3, 6-3 to cruise into the quarter finals of the 2004 Australian Open.  As the first week drew to a close Kim conceded that she's "playing really well", and although she's not had as much practice as she'd have liked before the tournament, she says said "I still feel like I'm hitting the ball as well as I want to".

In the quarter finals, Kim faces her toughest match of the tournament so far, against 6th seed Anastasia Myskina who won her fourth round match in three sets against Chanda Rubin.  

The winner of the Clijsters / Myskina match will meet either Lisa Raymond or Patty Schnyder in the Semis after the American beat 16-year old Tatiana Golovin from France 6-2, 6-4.

In the other half of the draw Lindsay Davenport went through in two sets against Vera Zvonareva and Justine Henin-Hardenne came back from a set down against qualifier Mara Santangelo to win 6-1, 7-6, 7-5.

Amelie Mauresmo, who missed last year's tournament through injury, has now had to withdraw from the 2004 finals, handing her opponent Fabiola Zuluaga a semi-final appearance against the winner of the Henin-Hardenne / Davenport match.

Round 3 : Another two sets victory

Kim Clijsters continued to keep the duration of her games to a minimum as she took only 15 games to defeat Dinara Safina. Clijsters, who is trying to minimise the stress on her recovering ankle, allowed the Russian to win just two games in the first set and only one in the second.

Meanwhile, Venus Williams, who Kim could have met in the Semi final, was beaten by Lisa Raymond, giving Kim her best chance of a Grand Slam title ever, providing the injury holds out.

Kim now faces Silvia Farina Elia of Italy in the next round.

Round 2 : Kim makes short work of Camerin

Kim Clijsters beat Maria Elena Camerin in 12 straight games earlier today, with the Italian only winning 4 points on her weak second serve, and not that many on her first. Kim joked 'What do you want me to do, hit it into the net?' after a spectator shouted out 'Give her a game'.

After the match Kim was said to be very pleased with her performance, though her ankle had flared up a bit. The good news is that in total the first two matches of the Sydney championship have now been completed in just 29 games, which is less punishing on her ankle than a single tight match might have been. This is giving Kim slightly more time for her ankle to heal properly before the tougher final rounds.

Kim makes round two

Despite worries about a twisted ankle that had threatened to exclude her from this year's Australian Open, Kim Clijsters has eased her way past Marlene Weingaertner to the second round of the competition.

Kim said she didn't have too much trouble from her injury during the 6-3 6-2 victory. She meets Maria Elena Camerin after the Italian's easy 6-2 6-2 first round game with Venezuelan Milagros Sequera.

Kim Clijsters and other major stars doubtful for Australian Open

It's possible that an ankle injury will prevent no.2 seed Kim Clijsters from entering the championship, which is being held from 19th January until 1st February.

As the start of the tournament approaches, some of the other biggest female names in tennis look like they'll also be absent this year due to injuries.

Serena Williams will not be defending her title, and Jennifer Capriati and Mary Pierce have opted out. 

And Jelena Dokic will not be taking part for the 3rd year running. She has said that her game isn't up to the level necessary to compete at the highest level for this tournament.