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Momentum pursuit Henin-Hardenne, Clijsters, Verkerk seek continued successPosted: Sunday June 15, 2003 4:48 PMDEN BOSCH, Netherlands, June 15 (Reuters) -- Three French Open high achievers will begin their preparations for Wimbledon at the Ordina Open, which begins on Monday. Women's Roland Garros champion Justine Henin-Hardenne and runner-up Kim Clijsters headline the event, while Dutchman Martin Verkerk will venture out for his first grass-court match in the men's competition. Verkerk, whose stunning run in Paris was ended by Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final, had never won a match at a Grand Slam event before this year's French Open. But he became the story of the clay-court Grand Slam with victories over 1998 champion Carlos Moya and Argentine Guillermo Coria en route to the final. His first-round match, against German Lars Burgsmueller, will be his grass-court debut as a senior. Sebastian Grosjean, runner-up to Andy Roddick in the Stella Artois Championship in London, is seeded fifth in the men's event behind top seed Jiri Novak, who reached the quarterfinals of the Halle Open. Dutchman Sjeng Schalken defends his title, while Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand, Frenchman Arnaud Clement (a semifinalist in Halle), Spaniard Tommy Robredo and Argentine Jose Acasuso complete the seedings. Henin-Hardenne, who became the first ever Belgian Grand Slam champion when she beat Clijsters in Paris, is seeded second behind her compatriot. While the pair will want to battle out yet another all-Belgian final, 2002 Wimbledon semifinalist Amelie Mauresmo may have something to say about that. She is in Clijsters' half of the draw, while Nadia Petrova, who beat Jennifer Capriati on her way to the French Open semifinals, is lurking in Henin-Hardenne's half. Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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