Australian Open Championship Preview-2
Clijsters Henin-Hardenne
20 Age 21
2 Rank 1
Belgium Nation Belgium
6-0 YTD W/L 9-0
289-77 Career W/L 294-82
19 singles Career Titles 15 singles
2 doubles Grand Slam Titles 2 singles
AUSTRALIAN OPEN RECORDS
Best AO Result – Henin-Hardenne: Finalist 2004;
Clijsters: Finalist 2004.
Best Grand Slam Result – Henin-Hardenne: Champion 2003 Roland Garros,
US Open.
Clijsters: Finalist 2001, 2003 Roland Garros,
2003 US Open.
Australian Open W/L – Henin-Hardenne 19-4; Clijsters: 19-4
ROAD TO THE FINAL
(1) Justine Henin-Hardenne (BEL #1)
R128: d. (WC) Olivia Lukaszewicz (AUS #870) 60 60 (0:45)
R64: d. (Q) Camille Pin (FRA #168) 61 64 (1:06)
R32: d. (30) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #33) 62 75 (1:17)
R16: d. (Q) Mara Santangelo (ITA #129) 61 76(5) (1:27)
QF: d. (5) Lindsay Davenport (USA #5) 75 63 (1:28)
SF: d. (32) Fabiola Zuluaga (COL #36) 62 62 (1:16)
Total games: 106
Won/lost: 75/31
Total time on court: 7:19
(2) Kim Clijsters (BEL #2)
R128: d. Marlene Weingartner (GER #51) 63 62 (1:00)
R64: d. Maria Elena Camerin (ITA #92) 60 60 (0:50)
R32: d. Dinara Safina (RUS #48) 62 61 (0:57)
R16: d. (20) Silvia Farina Elia (ITA #19) 63 63 (1:13)
QF: d. (6) Anastasia Myskina (RUS #7) 62 76(9) (1:30)
SF: d. (22) Patty Schnyder (SUI #26) 62 76(2) (1:14)
Total games: 104
Won/lost: 74/30
Total time on court: 6:44
HISTORY OF THE SEEDS
The No.1 seed has gone on to reach the final 27 times in the Open era,
winning 16 of those championship matches.
The No.2 seed has reached 17 finals, winning 11 times.
With the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds advancing to this year’s final.
WORLD NO.1 vs. NO.2
Since the inception of WTA computer rankings (November 3, 1975),
the Top 2-ranked players in the world have met on 97 occasions
(incl. 2004 Australian Open final). The world No.1 has prevailed 61 times,
while the No.2 has won 35 of those previous encounters.
The following list reflects the 12 occasions since 2000 in which
the world No.1 and No.2 players have faced each other in a WTA Tour or
Grand Slam event:
NO.1 vs. NO.2 AT THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN
This is the 15th meeting between the Top 2 seeds at the Australian Open since
1969 and the 56th at a major in the Open Era. To date the No.1 seed has won
only seven of those first 14 meetings. Six of the past seven meetings dating
back to 1982 have featured the world’s No.1 and 2 players, with the No.1
winning four of those encounters (1985, 1993, 1994, 2003).
KEEPING THE STREAK ALIVE
Both Justine Henin-Hardenne and Kim Clijsters take unbeaten 2004 records into
the Australian Open final. Henin-Hardenne (9-0) won the Sydney title prior to
this event, while Clijsters (6-0) is playing her first WTA Tour event of the
season, although she played Hopman Cup for Belgium but missed Sydney after
spraining her left ankle in Perth. Furthermore, Clijsters has won her two
most recent WTA Tour events – 2003 Luxembourg and the season-ending
Championships – and rides a 15-match win streak overall.
Should Clijsters win the title, it would mark the first time in more than a
decade player has continued her tournament win streak from the previous year
with a Grand Slam title in Australia. In 1993, Monica Seles won the Australian
Open title after winning her last four events of 1992 – US Open, Tokyo
[Nichirei], Oakland and the Virginia Slims Championships. Steffi Graf took a
seven-tournament win streak into the 1990 Australian Open, where she was also
victorious.
PRESSURE MATCH
The Henin-Hardenne vs. Clijsters final will be the ninth since the
introduction of computer singles rankings in November 1975 in which the
reigning No.1 is defending her ranking against the No.2.
It is the sixth Grand Slam final between No.1 and No.2 where the top spot is
at stake.
WHAT THEY'VE SAID
Henin-Hardenne: "We are familiar with because we played each other many
times,and two times in Grand Slam finals last year. It's
a Grand Slam final.
That's going to be another great moment in my career.
And people are going to make a lot of noise because it's
huge for a little country."
"I think that both Kim and me are getting familiar and
used to this situation.
So I can't tell you how I'm going to feel before going
on court on Saturday.
But I'll go on the court and just try to give my best
one more time."
"It's been a very difficult tournament for me because it
was new, being here, being the first seed. That wasn't
easy every day, especially at the beginning of the
tournament. But I change the situation since the
quarters, and I'm feeling better. But the final is going
to be another match, another tough match. And I know
I'll have to improve my level again if I want to take
this title."
Clijsters: "I definitely wouldn't have rated my chances very high getting
into the tournament. But I definitely feel like I'm hitting
the ball good and I feel good. Of course, there's a few
things that I would have liked to, you know -- it hasn't
been my perfect preparation. Probably in the two previous
Grand Slams I probably would have liked to play a little bit
less before I got to -- with all the doubles and everything,
I was a little bit exhausted at end of those two Slams. And
here, I would have -- probably would have liked to have
played a few more getting into the tournament."
"I was playing so many matches getting, all the tournaments
before the French Open, and playing doubles in all those
events as well. And at the French I was playing a lot of
doubles and at the US Open as well. I was just, I think --
it was too much. I didn't really feel like -- you know,
I was just exhausted at the end of the tournament. You know,
that's something that I've learned. I've really enjoyed
playing my doubles and getting to No. 1, that was very
special for me and for Ai as well.
So I've been very happy with what I did last year."
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---禪心已作沾泥絮，莫向春風舞鷓鴣---
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