Players: Amelie Mauresmo and Kim Clijsters
- Amelie Mauresmo. a junior star from France
Amelie Mauresmo was born in 1979. He has been successful at a young age, winning both as juniors. Roland Garros and: Wimbledon in 1996. She recorded her first notable result in 1998 when she finished runner-up to Conchita Martinez (6-4, 6-4) in Berlin. She came into the limelight in 1999 when she reached the final Australian Open as world No. 29, beating top seed Lindsey Davenport (4-6, 7-5, 7-5) in the semifinals before losing to Martina Hingis (6-2, 6-3). A few weeks later, she reached another final, in Paris-Coubertin, where she lost to Serena Williams (6-2, 3-6, 7-6). In October 1999, she rose to No. 11 in the WTA rankingsgs list.
- Kim Clijsters. A teenage prodigy from Belgium
Kim Clijsters was born in 1983. In 1998, the 15-year-old Belgian earned her first WTA points, finishing the year as world No. 409. In 1999, she failed to qualify for Wimbledon, losing only in the fourth round to Steffi Graf (6-2-2, 6-2: in the previous round). In September, she cemented her meteoric rise by winning her first title at the Luxembourg Open, defeating world number 13 Dominic Monam in the final. At just 16, she was already ranked 54th in the world.
Location: Bratislava
Eurotel Slovak Open was founded in 1999. Held on indoor courts in Bratislava, it distributed $111,000 in prize money and its two leaders were Frenchmen Amelie Mauresmo and Nathalie Deschy.
T:he facts. Mauresmo wins in straight sets
Amelie Mauresmo was Bratislava’s No. 1, but she never made the draw. She came close to defeating world number 88 Hungarian Rita Kuti-Kiss in the first round, only escaping in a crucial tiebreak (3-6, 6-3, 7-6). In the second round, she also had to fight hard to eliminate Barbara Ritner (No. 56, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4). The Frenchwoman had more luck in the semifinals, where she won without even playing, as her opponent, Kveta Hrdlichkova, was forced to withdraw after being stung by a wasp.
One player still stood between Mauresmo and her first tour title: Kim Clijsters. On paper, the Frenchwoman was a heavy favorite going into the top 10, but the Belgian was not to be reckoned with. She climbed over 400 WTA rankings in less than a year, beat a top 10 player at Wimbledon (Amanda Koetzer), and a few weeks ago she won her first tournament in Luxembourg, where she qualified. In the semifinals in Bratislava, she came back to beat second seed Natalie Deschi 6–7, 6–4, 6–2, marking her 12th straight match-opening victory.
But the first meeting of the rising stars was one-sided. Mauresmo outlasted Clijsters in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 to win her first WTA title while edging closer to the top 10.
V:hat next? Mauresmo and Clijsters both become No.1
Amelie Mauresmo won four titles in 2001 and reached the quarterfinals of the US Open (lost to Jennifer Capriati 6-3, 6-4). From early 2002 to late 2005, displaying an aggressive game based on a good serve and a strong one-handed backhand, Mauresmo claimed 12 titles, but he failed to reach a major final. His lack of success at Grand Slam tournaments led to criticism of him for a perceived mental weakness, and his achievement of world No. 1 in September 2004 became quite controversial.
But is it?2005 in the end, Mauresmo eventually won a major title, winning the WTA Tour Championship against France’s Mary Pierce (5-7, 7-6, 6-4). In 2006, he finally won a Grand Slam at the Australian Open, defeating an ailing Justin Henin, who retired when he was down 6-1, 2-0. On March 20, he will become world number 1 for the second time, and in June he will win the second major crown at Wimbledon, defeating Henin (2-6, 6-3, 6-4) in a spectacular battle. Mauresmo will retire in 2009 and become tournament director of Roland Garros in December 2021.
Kim Clijsters reached the final of the French Open in 2001, where she was defeated by Jennifer Capriati after a thrilling two-and-a-half-hour match (1-6, 6-4, 12-10). She won her first major title at the 2002 WTA Finals in Los Angeles, defeating Serena Williams in straight sets, 7–5, 6–3..
2003 was his pinnacle year as he became the first Belgian to win the world No.1. He competed in 21 singles matches that year, reaching the semifinals in all but one of his matches, and reaching 15 finals. He finished the year with nine titles to go along with a stellar 90-12 record. The only thing he could not achieve would be a Grand Slam title. he would have to wait another two years before climbing the rankings. US Open: title, defeating Mary Pearce (6-3, 6-1) in the final in 2007. After her first retirement in 2007, Clijsters returned in 2009 to win three more major crowns (US Open in 2009 and 2010 and Australian Open in 2011). She retired again in 2012, but attempted a second comeback in 2020, which began in Dubai (lost to Muguruza, 6-2, 7-6) and was interrupted by the coronavirus crisis.
Mauresmo and Clijsters have met 15 times in their careers, with the Belgian leading 8-7.