Clijsters loves the hard stuff

If the storyline had gone as it seemed it would, Kim Clijsters would be married by now and, very possibly, distracted by impending motherhood. As it is, she will set out this week in single-minded pursuit of her first grand-slam title, determined to disprove the theory that she is too nice to realise her ambitions.

Apart from her record of having lost the four grand-slam finals she has contested so far - three of them against her hyper-competitive compatriot Justine Henin-Hardenne - Clijsters has impeccable credentials to carry off this year's US Open title on the hard courts of Flushing Meadows. She has been the hard-court queen since the tour's focus moved from Europe to North America after Wimbledon, winning titles in Stanford, Los Angeles and Toronto.

It might all have been so different. At the start of last year she was happily contemplating marriage to Lleyton Hewitt after a long and apparently blissful courtship. She told me she was looking forward to designing her wedding dress and becoming a young mum. 'It's something I feel pretty strongly about,' she said. Now, only Hewitt is looking forward to parenthood, but with the new love of his life, the soap actress Bec Cartwright, whom he married last month. She is expecting a child in October.

Clijsters, 22, says she remains on good terms with Hewitt - she is on good terms with just about everyone except the coolly detached Henin-Hardenne - but has declined to discuss the break-up. Perhaps the only sign of hurt can be seen in the way she has been taking it out on rivals once she gets on court.

'She is one of the toughest to beat,' said Daniela Hantuchova after losing to her in the Los Angeles final two weeks ago. 'If she feels like she is getting on top, it is hard to stop her. Physically, she is much stronger, and I would say she and Justine are the two best movers in the game.'

There you have the rundown of why Clijsters is so successful on hard courts (10 titles on the surface in North America in her past 15 starts): strong, fast and still an implacable returner even if she has abandoned the tear-inducing 'splits' shot, played with her feet impossibly wide apart, that was so effective in enabling her to retrieve from beyond the tramlines. But Hantuchova's assessment also hinted at the weaknesses that have prevented her from taking her best form into grand slams. Hantuchova makes the point that Clijsters is physically strong, as opposed to mentally, and it is only when the Belgian 'feels like she is getting on top' that she becomes unstoppable. The most dangerous players specialise in rebounding from seemingly hopeless situations.

Having come back from a career-threatening wrist injury in February, Clijsters failed to make an impact straight away in grand slams, suffering three-set defeats against the formidable Lindsay Davenport at the French Open and Wimbledon. Now that she is fully rehabilitated, she may struggle to explain herself if she does not become the 2005 US Open champion.

The seedings suggest Clijsters is only fourth in line to the title behind Maria Sharapova, who has been the world's number one since last Monday, Davenport and Amelie Mauresmo. But the greater threats to Clijsters may lie behind her in the seedings, notably Henin-Hardenne and Venus Williams.

Williams has been transformed since winning Wimbledon last month to end a lean run. Buoyed by renewed confidence, she said last week: 'I have a lot of weapons and not a ton of weaknesses.'

Sharapova's elevation to the peak of the women's game was the result of one of those sets of circumstances that give the rankings a bad name. She went to number one despite being out of action with an injury, overtaking Davenport because the American was also hurt and shedding ranking points. It was like an overtake in Formula One, only in this instance Sharapova and Davenport were both in the pits undergoing repairs.

With neither Sharapova nor Davenport completely match fit and Mauresmo chronically incapable of steadying her nerve once the going gets tough at a grand slam, Clijsters knows only too well that the title is hers to blow. Even she admits: 'I don't think I could have done much better with my preparation.'

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who have towered above the men's game this year with nine titles each, are seeded to meet in what would be a fitting championship match. Federer's more rounded game makes him the favourite - eight of Nadal's titles have been on clay - but the Spanish teenager plays with a brio and confidence that have disconcerted Federer more than once this year.

Tim Henman, who starts against the dangerous Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, reached the semi-finals here last year and faces a dive down the world rankings unless he can turn around his poor form. He may even catch the unwelcome sight of Greg Rusedski going past him in the rankings in the opposite direction. Rusedski opens against the American James Blake, who could have been a contender with a little more consistency.