Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters set up fourth round clash at Wimbledon

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Wilson Blade 9

Kim ClijstersJustine Henin

Belgians Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters are set to continue their rivalry in the fourth round of Wimbledon as they will play each other for the 25th time in their careers. Currently, the former world No.1s are tied at 12-12, but Henin has a 3-1 record against Clijsters on grass, and that sole loss came by retirement. Their last meeting on grass was in the semifinals of Wimbledon 2006 and Henin won it.

The eighth-seeded Clijsters advanced to the fourth round of Wimbledon with a routine win over No.27 seed Maria Kirilenko, 6-3 6-3. On Center Court, seed No.17 Henin stormed through the first set and rallied from 3-1 down in the second set to beat seed No.12 Nadia Petrova for the sixth straight time and with the score 6-1 6-4. Henin has never lost in the third round of a Grand Slam and her record is 27-0 now.

Fourth seed Jelena Jankovic cruised past No.28 seed Alona Bondarenko 6-0 6-3 and will have another shot at reaching her first Wimbledon quarterfinals. The 2007 Wimbledon finalist Marion Bartoli, seeded 11th this year, got past qualifier Greta Arn 6-3 6-4. Second seed and five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams also advanced, with a 6-4 6-2 victory over Alisa Kleybanova. (photos: sr_cranks, © Neal Trousdale)

11 COMMENTS

  1. Go, Kim! Wonder what will hapen, they’re both playing good right now.I hope Kim wins, as much as I admire and love Justine’s game, I just don’t like her. To me, it seems that she’s too depending on her coach. It’s really annoying to see such a champion looking frightened at her coach when in trouble. As for Kim, I like her attitude and her game is pretty nice, too. 🙂

  2. Wow, what a match-up!

    That will certainly be a thriller, however I give the edge to Kim because as Mirjana mentioned, Kim is much less dependent on her coach than Justine. I don’t really like Justin a lot, so maybe that is another reason why I want Kim to win. Also, if JJ wins, the next round match up will also be a thriller as either Kim or Justin will play JJ in the quarters! I really hope JJ prevails against whoever she plays and really want her to pull far in this tournament, although she seems to be having problems with her leg. 🙁

  3. I am rooting for Justine. I DO like her! –and I actually think its admirable that she and her coach are still together after all these years. Justine moves like no one else on court. There is a quality and finesse about her tennis that is so exceptional, in my opinion. I am glad she and Kim came back.

  4. It’s a terrific effort by both Belgians. I’m thinking that Justine will pull through. She simply wants it more. Plus, her comeback is focused on winning this tournament. Her heart is completely in it.

    Great post, and a nice blog, too.

    I’ve linked back to you from my blog:

    tenaciouslytennis.wordpress.com

    -Ben

  5. I want Justine to win. I think the relationship with her coach is a thing to admire and the rumour about looking at him all the time is a bubble blown up by malicious media. I like her atttitude and determination. I think she can win this match, at previous meetings with Kim she was not quite ready and not always physically well but now she’s OK and really wants to go far at this tournament. Since she returned WTA tennis has been much more fun to watch.

  6. It is sometimes awkward that Justine is still so dependent on her coach, I think it’s more an emotional dependence, but as Cb and Marine say it’s also admirable that they have such a great bond.

    I would like Henin to win to see yet another Henin vs. JJ match-up.

    Ben, thanks for the link. I’ve subscribed to your blog and I’m looking forward to reading your comments on tennis.

  7. Hi Marija,

    Thank you!

    I really do hope Henin pulls through. She deserves to make it well into the second week. It’s going to be a great battle, I’m sure.

    I agree — a Henin-Jankovic match would be exciting to watch.

    -Ben

  8. Just because a player relies on their coach (even during matches) doesn’t mean you shouldn’t like them-that’s what coaches are there for-to help players and will them on in matches to win (and maybe it’s just me but the whole looking at the coaching box for advice thing is ridiculous. If I were playing on the court I wouldn’t be able to see my coach gesturing to me advice… they’re somewhat far away-they’re not next me to or anything-if that makes sense).

    I hope Justine wins!

    Can’t wait for a match-up between JJ and either women (whoever wins)-but I hope Justine makes it through as her main purpose of coming back was to win Wimbledon.

  9. I think Justine has the slight edge, but I don’t underestimate Kim at all. I would love to see Kim beat Justine at a slam, because it hasn’t happened in a very long time. I also think that Zvonareva will beat JJ. Hopefully tomorrow’s matches are entertaining.

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