All-Belgian final means Clijsters vs. Henin-Hardenne

All-Belgian final means Clijsters vs. Henin-Hardenne
By Charles Bricker
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
(KRT)
PARIS -- Kim Clijsters knows what "luck of the draw" means.
Everything has fallen in place for her at this 2003 French Open, on the court and in the drawsheet, as she goes into Saturday's final against her friend and compatriot, Justine Henin-Hardenne.
It will be the first all-Belgian Grand Slam final of either gender, and there's no question who has had the easier path to get there. While Henin-Hardenne had one crisis after another in beating Serena Williams in the semis, Clijsters delivered a tidy 7-5, 6-1 victory over unseeded Nadia Petrova in which she was broken only once and needed just one hour and 10-minutes to reach her second French Open championship match.
As the No. 2 seed, she was facing the prospect of playing a rejuvenated Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinals and either Venus Williams or Jennifer Capriati in the semis. She never had to match up with any of them.
Davenport, with nerve problems in her foot, quit her round of 16 match, sending Clijsters instead against 31-year-old Conchita Martinez, whom she beat 6-2, 6-1.
In the semis, she didn't have to face Venus, who holds a lifetime 4-2 edge, because she was upset by Vera Zvonareva. And she avoided Capriati, who had beaten her in the final of the 2001 French, when Jennifer lost to Petrova.
"It will be incredible," Clijsters said of the all-Belgian championship in which both players are seeking their first Grand Slam title. Hundreds of Belgians, one and a half hours away from Paris by train, are said to be scurrying for black market tickets for this final.
Said Henin-Hardenne: "Belgian people have to be crazy, and that's normal. To have two players in the final, that's unbelievable for the country."
One couple that won't require tickets are Belgium's King Albert II and his wife, Paola, who will be guests of the French Tennis Federation.
Clijsters and Henin-Hardenne bring different styles to the court. Clijsters is taller, heavier, more powerfully built. Henin-Hardenne is quicker. Clijsters can deliver a one-shot winner from anywhere in the backcourt. Henin-Hardenne has to work the points longer, but she also has more variety in her shots.
If it comes down to mental strength, who do you select? Both appear to be very much in charge of their emotions.
They are friends, but not social friends. When Henin-Hardenne was married last November, Clijsters did not attend. Also, Clijsters is Flemish and from the northern, more Dutch-oriented part of Belgium. Henin-Hardenne is Walloon, from the southern, totally French-speaking area.
The last time there were two players from the same country in the French final was in 1998, when Carlos Moya defeated his Spanish countryman, Alex Corretja, in the final.
That match turned into a kind of Grand Slam lovefest with the two friends often calling their own lines and giving each other points when they thought linespersons made mistakes.
This final, however, is unlikely to be as convivial. It could be completely enjoyable for the easy-going Clijsters, but not for Henin-Hardenne, who is a hardened competitor who probably wants this title more than her friend.
The match, to be televised live on NBC, begins at 9 a.m. Eastern time.
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(c) 2003 South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
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