Tennis: Clijsters Starts Favourite

There will have been no happier locker room at the US Open in a fortnight's time than if Kim Clijsters wins her first grand slam title. "To me she's the favourite," said Patrick McEnroe, the US Davis Cup captain, television pundit, and altogether less abrasive brother of John. "She's been the best player on hard courts by far, not only this summer but also earlier in the year."

If general good humour and a balanced attitude towards the often overly fraught and precious world of women's tennis was a guarantee of success, then the 22-year-old Kimmy, the most endearing and liked player on the circuit, would not still be waiting to break her duck of slam titles.

With 27 WTA Tour singles titles to her name, including six this year in which she has dominated the United States hard courts, she is hardly short of career success, but that annoyingly insidious question continues to be posed: is she too nice to be a slam champion?

"When I stop playing, I want to leave the tour with friends. At the end of the day, I want to know I can call them. Friends are more important to me. You can't always win. You have to keep working hard, move forward and get better. Hopefully when I get into that position again I can maybe change things. I'm not worried yet."

Clijsters, who has frequently made it clear she wants to start a family, reiterated yesterday her desire to retire within the next two or three years - so time is beginning to run out. "I think I will stop at the end of 2007," she said. "My body has already given me a lot of problems."

She has also reached four slam finals, the first four years ago when she was beaten 1-6, 6-4, 12-10 on the red clay of Roland Garros by Jennifer Capriati. Four times in that colossal final Clijsters was within two points of victory, and there seemed little reason to suppose that the athletic and bubbly teenager would not make a her major mark quickly.

Yet it took her another eight slams before she reached her next final, again in Paris, which was to be the first of three all-Belgian encounters with Justine Henin-Hardenne, Clijsters losing them all, including the 2003 US Open.

Then, last year, having lost to Henin in the Australian Open final, Clijsters suffered a left wrist injury that was so serious it pushed her to the brink of retirement. So when she re-appeared in February of this year, having missed four consecutive majors, there was much delight. And this was hugely amplified during the spring US hard-court season when she won the Indian Wells and Key Biscayne tournaments back to back.

Her form was not so dominant when she switched to the European clay, but her wrist remained sound, while her much publicised split with Lleyton Hewitt, which she instigated, slid into the background. Then, in Berlin, came a knee injury that brought more disruption and for a while it appeared touch and go whether she would be able to play at Roland Garros.

"Obviously it was really frustrating," said Clijsters, who, despite her natural exuberance, had often cut something of a forlorn figure last year. "I had been playing so well in Indian Wells and Miami and then I found myself having to battle again to find my rhythm."

At both Roland Garros and Wimbledon she lost in the fourth round to Lindsay Davenport, but now Clijsters believes she is playing the best tennis of her life, better than when she briefly rose to world No1 in 2003. The Belgian has always been one of the best defensive players on hard courts but in her three finals against Henin she erred on the side of safety and paid the price. Nerves have also played a part.

This year she has concentrated on improving her serve, which has tended to be a little predictable, and she feels she has matured on and off the court. "Things are working, they are falling into place, and I want to give myself another opportunity to get into a slam final. I can't say that maturing has helped me at this level yet because I don't know. But I do feel more confident on court." This showed in her last tournament, the Rogers Cup in Toronto, where she defeated Henin in the final.

Marc Dehous, Clijsters's coach, has tried to play down the fact that the world No4 will enter Flushing Meadows as the favourite. "A lot of the other top players have been injured this summer so we'll have to wait and see how they are over the next couple of weeks," he said. "Kim has won two out of the last three hard-court titles and will be mentally tough. But the pressure at the US Open will be different. I hope she can respond to it."

Clijsters has lost only one match in north America this year and it finally seems the time is right. "Physically I feel healthy and that's the most important thing. That makes me ready to go at Flushing Meadows, although that doesn't mean I'm going to win it."

Most, like McEnroe, will hope she does. There would be no more popular winner.