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Flashback Friday: Five Great Clijsters Moments
By Chris Oddo
(August 24th, 2012) -- As
Kim Clijsters
prepares for the final Grand Slam of her career, we've culled together some of her finest moments to get you ready for the end of the Belgian's incredible tennis journey.
As far as legends of the game go, you can measure a player by pure numbers and statistics, or you can take into account all the intangibles to determine the true impression a player has made on the sport. Either way you slice it, Clijsters deserves a mention among the game's all-time greats, and she'll certainly take her place at the Intenational Tennis Hall of Fame not long after she becomes eligible.
With four Grand Slam titles, two stints at No. 1 in the world, Clijsters has the numbers covered, but when you explore the intangibles--what she gave to to the game in body and spirit, how she interacted with fans and players, her improbably awesome comeback and second career as a mother, the tearjerking hugs she shared with her adversaries at the net after numerous encounters--Kim comes out pretty high on the list of all-time female greats.
But we're going to leave the discussion of where Kim ranks in the tennis pantheon for another day. Today is about celebrating all those glorious Clijsters moments, and making a note to keep a watchful eye on Clijsters as she makes her rounds during the 2012 US Open.
In a weird way it will be like watching a ghost, someone who has already left the game. It's bound to be very emotional, and if all goes as planned, pretty damn exciting too.
Without any further ado, let's go to the videotape:
1. Clijsters wins her first US Open title after losing her first four Grand Slam finals. Pay special attention to the post-match speech, at 1:01:45. Clijsters grabs the mic from Dick Enberg and launches into a beautiful speech, which starts with heartfelt praise for her opponent
Mary Pierce
.
2. Clijsters' magnificent come-from-behind victory over
Li Na
in the 2011 Australian Open final.
3. Clijsters massive win in the 2005 US Open semifinal over
Maria Sharapova
. Talk about athleticism and power! Clijsters had to fight her way past
Venus Williams
and then Sharapova to get to the final. She was hell-bent on erasing her "best player to never win a Slam status," and it showed.
4. An early version of the battle of Belguim, won by a then-17-year-old Clijsters in the French Open semifinals. This match moved Clijsters into the WTA top ten for the first time in her career.
5. A nosebleed view of Clijsters winning the US Open in 2009 against
Caroline Wozniacki
. As far as pure emotion goes, this moment is hard to top.
(Photo Credit: Tennis Now)
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