NOTEBOOK

NOTEBOOK
Clijsters still plans to quit: Kim Clijsters is the reigning U.S. Open champion, is ranked No. 2 in the world, is still winning matches in under an hour, and is all of 22 years old. Yet she still plans to quit after next season. The Belgian confirmed Friday what she announced last year -- that she intends to retire in 2007 because of the serious nature of the injuries she'd endured, including a bad left wrist that kept her off the court for most of 2004, and assorted ankle, knee and back problems, too. "My main decision is just that I want to still be able to be healthy when I'm older," Clijsters said after a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Conchita Martinez Granados in the second round. "I don't want to be having injuries that cause me to not be able to do all the things that I want to do when I stop playing tennis."
Roddick to London: When Andy Roddick left Roland Garros after a left ankle injury forced him to quit during his first round match, he wasn't sure whether to head home to Austin, Texas, or stay in Europe before Wimbledon. Well, he decided to head straight to London to rest, then prepare for grass-court play at Queen's Club before Wimbledon starts June 26. He's been a Wimbledon finalist the last two years. "I'm definitely encouraged that he went to London and not home," Roddick's agent, Ken Meyerson, said Friday. "He just needs to really rest [the ankle]."
More clay: U.S. Tennis Association president Franklin Johnson was asked whether he's concerned about the country's performance at the French Open, with one U.S. man and two American women in the third round. "I'm not unduly alarmed," Johnson said. In the next breath, though, he noted that the USTA is close to switching its Florida training center from Key Biscayne to a facility with more clay courts, Chris Evert's Academy in Boca Raton. "It may be a little premature, because we haven't firmed it up yet, but were contemplating a move of our center in Florida," Johnson said. "If we do a deal with the Evert Academy, most of their courts are clay, so at our training center most of the training would be on clay." Another advantage of the Evert Academy is that it would allow the USTA to offer year-round housing for top prospects, Johnson said.
Associated Press
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