By Mike McIntyre
How excited is the tennis world at the realization of a Kim Clijsters/Justine Henin final so early in the season? It's very rare that I will wake up in the early hours of the morning to watch a non-Grand Slam event, but I'm seriously considering doing that on Saturday just to watch these two face-off in the finals of the Brisbane International.
The pair last met at Wimbledon on grass in 2006 with Henin prevailing 6-4, 7-6(4). Clijsters won their last hard court encounter in Toronto in 2005 by a score of 7-5, 6-1. Henin narrowly leads their career head-to-head by a margin of 12-10. Good luck predicting a winner in this one folks.
Clijsters has an edge in recent match-play by virtue of her comeback in the summer of 2009 that included a U.S. Open title. Henin is looking incredibly sharp however in just her first tournament back since retirement with solid victories over second-seeded Nadia Petrova, and third-seeded Ana Ivanovic.
Both players appear to be greatly anticipating the match and had complimentary comments for each other ahead of their encounter on Saturday.
"I don't think anybody, anywhere around the world, especially Belgium, even our own groups and teams … ever expected to see this again," Clijsters said. "It's real exciting. It's going to be an interesting one again. It's, you know, back to the old days."
"It's always special when I play Kim. It's a day I like a lot," Henin said. "That's what a lot of people hoped for and expected. We've had a lot of great fights over the years. But a lot of things happened to her, a lot of things happen to me. It's going to be a different situation."
It has been a great week for tennis fans and sports enthusiasts in Belgium, as Yanina Wickmayer has already captured the ASB Classic in Auckland where she defeated top-seeded Flavia Pennetta for the title.
I think I have a feeling of what nation to keep an eye on in 2010 Fed Cup play!
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