Belgian Versus Southern Stars (17/1/2002)

Two popular Belgian teenagers, Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin, will this Saturday be cast in the role of the villains, when they take on the last two remaining Australians in third round Australian Open action.

18-year-old Clijsters, a straight sets winner over Barbara Schwartz on Thursday, will line up against Australian wildcard Cindy Watson, while Henin, who survived an onslaught from Marta Marrero, faces off against the top-50 ranked Nicole Pratt.

Fourth seed Clijsters is the girlfriend of Aussie Lleyton Hewitt - and so unofficially qualifies as this nation's honorary daughter-in-law. Clijsters probably spends as much time in Adelaide with the world No.1 as she does in her homeland, and is a regular fixture in the player entourage at his matches.

Her Aussie 'adoption' became complete last December when she donned a green and gold 'Fanatics' t-shirt for the final of the Davis Cup in Melbourne. Over the last two months, she's travelled from Adelaide to Perth for the Hopman Cup, on to Sydney for the lead-in event and then Melbourne for the Open. The girl who reached her first Grand Slam final in Roland Garros last year can't get enough of the Great Southern Land. And it appears the love affair is mutual.

The talented Belgian attributes her spectacular comeback from a set and 2-4 down against Silvia Farina Elia in Sydney last week to the dedicated 'hometown' support. "That's what made me sort of win my match against Farina, they really pushed me through there.

Says Clijsters of the extra attention: "Yeah, it has been great. From the first day I stepped on court, also in the Hopman Cup, it has been great. I've been getting a lot of support."

But she draws the line at being Australia's "great hope" and certainly doesn't feel any extra pressure because of her romantic liaison. "Well, I'm still Belgian, I'm not Australian," she beamed. "I hardly ever read the newspapers so I'm not really worried about what the people write. I don't put pressure on myself."

Watson is not fussed by the celebrity status of her next opponent. "But you are playing Lleyton's girlfriend," remarked a journalist to the matter-of-fact Australian. "Oh well," sighed Watson, who earned her wildcard into this event with some solid performances on the satellite tour.

19-year-old Henin, the No.6 seed, loves this place too, because it was here last year that she strung together a stunning 13-match winning streak, capturing back-to-back titles, on the Gold Coast and in Canberra. With the titles and her arrival on the pro scene, came an ever-expanding Aussie fan base. She went on to reach the fourth round at Melbourne Park, falling to Monica Seles after holding 4-2 leads in the second and third sets.

In her first round match on Tuesday against the Russian 'superstar' Anna Kournikova, the diminutive blonde called on the support of that same fan base as she triumphed in straight sets.

Come Saturday she will need all the support she can muster against the feisty Pratt, who has the determination, athleticism and solid all court game to cause an upset.

from ausopen.org