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Dubai: For former world number one and four-time Grand Slam champion Kim Clijsters, the campaign in Dubai may have ended but the journey has just about begun all over again. And on her part, the 36-year-old Belgian is keen to make the best of every moment – be it on court or off it.
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Clijsters has been a true champion of her era. Four Grand Slams – three of these on her first comeback in 2009 (the US Open in 2009, 2010 and the 2011 Australian Open) and then she decided on a second break from the WTA Tour. In between, she delivered three babies – Jada Elly (11), Jack Leon (6) and Blake Richard (3) – before announcing in September last year that she would stage a second comeback starting at the Australian Open.
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That never happened due to an irksome knee and Clijsters was more than happy to accept a wild card at the Dubai Duty Free Women’s Open where she went down in straight sets to Spanish Grand Slam champion, Garbine Muguruza, late on Monday.
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Clijsters was applaued all the way as the entire attendance at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium stood up to cheer the champion’s comeback.
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At the post-match meeting with the media, Clijsters was not too severe on herself either. “I felt obviously the second set was a big difference compared to the first set. My timing in the first set, my footing, just kept looking for it. I felt a few times it was there then it would be off a few points. At times I felt like I was close as I was seeing the ball clear…just started reading her game better as well, getting used to her pace a little bit,” she recounted.
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“In the second set, I felt I was really in the match. I felt like for a while I was dominating some of the points. I think that’s a good feeling to have, knowing the way I started the first set and then the way I was able to get back into that second set, with the type of tennis I played, it’s something that is the positive about this match. I’ll take that with me for the next matches,” she smiled.
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“I think the whole team realises that this has been the ideal situation for me to come back. The preparation, just being able to do our thing, just preparing. I think from Thursday onwards I started practising here. Just every day I felt like I was getting better and better. I think this whole week has been a big step forward for me and the whole team,” Clijsters disclosed.
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Muguruza perhaps sounded the right note when she threw in a word of caution about the Belgian even after winning. “She has the tennis over there. I’m sure she’s going to get better and better and for sure give us a lot of trouble and hard times ahead,” the Spaniard felt.
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The Morning and Evening Brief###
The Morning and Evening Brief