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Captivating a nation Belgium thrilled as favorite daughters square off in semis
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -- Belgium on Wednesday saluted two new sporting heroines -- Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters, who clash on Thursday for a place in the women's French Open final. The two teen-age semifinalists, close friends off court, will be vying for the honor of being the first Belgian to play a Grand Slam final. "We're good friends but, when the match comes, we'll be rivals," said Clijsters, who will be 18 on Friday. The match sets up a typically Belgian event with Flemish-speaking Clijsters up against Henin from the French-speaking south of the country. Belgian daily Het Laatste Nieuws said the semifinal was "a milestone in Belgian sporting history" and prompted comparison with the world acclaim for cycling icon Eddy Merckx. "Henin and Clijsters have put Belgium firmly among the top nations in modern tennis," said La Derniere Heure. Newspapers noted the girls' success was rooted in a federal training structure introduced several years ago, which boosted tennis coaching and spawned a generation of top class players. "The signs have been there for over 10 years," said La Derniere Heure. It chronicled recent Belgian success, with Sabine Appelmans and Dominique Monami reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in 1997 and Filip Dewulf's men's semifinal appearance at the French Open a year later. The national women's team reached the Fed Cup semifinals in 1997 and the men followed suit in the 1999 Davis Cup. "Justine and Kim's success is a logical result of years of work that has gone on at the grass roots level, with a much improved federal coaching structure and the two special tennis schools at Wilrijk and Mons," the paper said. The two schools coach a crop of 15 budding stars whose parents chip in just 150,000 francs ($3,174) a year to help cover tuition fees and the costs of travelling to international youth tournaments. The rest is subsidized and deals have to be struck with the Education Ministry for youngsters to get time off school. Right-hander Clijsters, seeded 12th, has never gone beyond the first round of the French Open and probably starts as a slight underdog against Henin who is better adapted to clay. "This is great for our country and it's a wonderful testament to the two federations who have done a great scouting and coaching job," said Clijsters. "It's not said often enough, you cannot underestimate the role of the coaches at the grass roots level." Belgium's Fed Cup captain Ivo Van Aken said he hoped the achievements of Henin and Clijsters would prompt more youngsters to take up the game. "Anyone who's watched them, particularly Henin, can only be inspired," he said. Clijsters' father, Lei, a former soccer international, says Kim has made huge progress but he fancies Henin to take the semifinal because of the surface. The two have previously met three times, with Henin leading 2-1, although Clijsters beat her rival in three sets at Indian Wells earlier this year. Clijsters burst on to the scene as a 16-year-old, winning her first WTA Tour title at Luxembourg in 1999 and reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon, losing to her idol Steffi Graf. She later lost in three sets to Serena Williams in the third round at the U.S. Open. Fourteenth seed Henin, a year older than 12th-seeded Clijsters, broke into the top 50 in the world last year with a run to the fourth round in the U.S. Open. Dozens of buses will ferry Belgian fans to Paris on Thursday. Many more will be back on Saturday when one of the new heroines will face American Jennifer Capriati or world number one Swiss Martina Hingis in the final. La Derniere Heure cited Henin as a 10-year-old telling her mother during the 1992 French Open final between Graf and Monica Seles that she would one day play a final at the Roland Garros. Henin's mother died two years later, but the childhood dream lives on.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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