It may be the sound judgment of a seasoned tennis pro who knows the frailties of her own body better than anyone. Or it might be wishful thinking.
In either case, Kim Clijsters says she is determined to defend her Australian Open title despite suffering a major injury scare in her unfinished semi-final at the Brisbane International last night.
Leading by one set to love and trailing 3-1 in the second to Slovak Daniela Hantuchova, Clijsters called an injury time out to seek treatment on her left hip. She tried to continue but withdrew shortly afterwards.
Hantuchova has endured a charmed run at Brisbane. She was given a walkover in the quarter-finals when Serena Williams withdrew with an ankle injury and was gifted the semi-final last night after an enthralling start to the contest.
She meets unseeded Estonian Kaia Kanepi in the final on Pat Rafter Arena tonight.
Clijsters, the 2010 champion, had never lost a match in Brisbane and values the miles under her underutilised legs before opening hostilities at Melbourne Park.
But while another title in Queensland would have been a nice bonus, her decision to withdraw was based solely on her viability of defending her fourth Grand Slam title and the only won she has collected outside of the US.
Clijsters spoke to the media after dunking herself in an ice bath for 20 minutes and despite a positive spin on the injury, has reason to be concerned.
She missed much of last year with a series of ailments, taking an ankle injury into the French Open (second round loss) and missing both Wimbledon (ankle) and the US Open (stomach muscle).
She said her hip was stiff going into the match but she had no inkling it would cause her anything resembling the escalating pain she encountered as the match continued into the evening.
“I just felt my left hip getting tighter and tighter, to a point where I felt like I couldn’t go forward with her upper body. I couldn’t put any pressure on when I was landing on my serve,” Clijsters said.
“It was spasming up and getting worse throughout the first set. It was the smartest choice to try and not let it get any worse.
“I’m going to the hospital tomorrow (Saturday) to have some more tests down, an echo and an MRI. It looks like a left hip strain and all the muscles around it were compensating.”
One promising sign for Clijsters is that she has suffered a left hip strain before. It was so bad she didn’t even remember it happening and only found out when informed by her trainer.
“I didn’t remember but my trainer told me it was 2010 in Canada. A left hip problem there as well. Tennis is good for you,” she said.
She said the stomach injury that caused her to miss the US Open – this is her first tournament since August last year – was serious from the outset but she believes this could be only a setback for Melbourne.
But even if she does play, she seems convinced this is an injury that will have to be managed along the way, rather than disappearing in time for the Open.
“I don’t doubt that there will be a problem once I start in Melbourne. It was getting a lot worse because I was starting to feel it when I was serving and landing. I didn’t want to get it to go to a complete spasm where the muscle can actually tear,” Clijsters said.
“I don’t think I’ve taken it that far. When you feel it getting worse and worse, it’s almost like you don’t have a choice.
“With this one (injury) I kinda have an OK feeling. I know with the trainers here, if everything comes out OK tomorrow, it should take a little under a week to get completely healed. That’s what I’m obviously hoping for and aiming for.
“I do have a good feeling about it.”
The injuries to Clijsters and Williams have thrown the women’s draw in the Australian Open wide open. Both were among the favourites to be in the final but the rest of the contenders now have cause for optimism.
Hantuchova, meanwhile, was somewhat overshadowed by the drama of Clijsters’ withdrawal but looked in very good touch in the first set, where she took a 3-0 lead before being mown down in a tie break, losing that 7-4.
With Clijsters visibly fading, she galloped to a 3-1 lead before the match was called off. The world number 24 spent two weeks in Noosa before this event and credited her good form to an early arrival in Australia.
“I felt like I was playing really well. I’m really enjoying my tennis at the moment. I’m just trying to do the things we worked on in the pre-season with my team. There are still a few things I need to improve,” Hantuchova said.
“I came here almost two weeks earlier. We were up in Noosa. I’m really pleased with the work we’ve done and it seems like it’s paying off early.
“We had such a wonderful time up there. It’s really one of my favourite parts of the world. I think I’ve fallen in love with the place.”
Kanepi is the world number 34 and has been one of the bolters in a topsy turvy tournament in Brisbane that has seen big guns Williams, Clijsters and Samantha Stosur all depart early.
She defeated second seed Andrea Petkovic in the quarter-finals before overcoming third seed Francesca Schiavone 6-3 6-0 last night to book a spot in the decider.
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