Diamond Racquet at Stake for Amelie Mauresmo against Kim Clijsters
Posted by Aaress Lawless on Feb 17, 2007 | Print
| 
It is hard to decide which player has more at stake heading into the final match tomorrow at the Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp, Belgium.
Amelie Mauresmo has won the title twice in the past, and a win tomorrow would mean not only her twenty-fourth career title, but also the million dollar diamond tennis racquet. She has held it in her hands twice, but now she is just one match away from holding onto it for good.
Unfortunately for Mauresmo, Kim Clijsters is going to do whatever she can to deny her the racquet. It’s nothing personal, but if Clijsters could pick a way to go out in her final year of professional tennis, she’d like to end it on a good note with a title at home. Yes, it is a far cry from a second Grand Slam title, but the fans in Belgium adore their champion and will be cheering whole-heartily for her tomorrow.
There will definitely be pressure on the backs of both women, but Amelie is going to be feeling it more than Kim.
Mauresmo had a rough start to 2007, and she needs to quickly get her game back on before the American hard-court season begins next month. She has been playing well this week at Antwerp, and most importantly, avoided any bagel sets, but I’m not certain that she will be able to withstand the pressure of playing one of the hardest hitters on the Tour and in front of a heavily-biased crowd.
Clijsters has not seen her hamstring injury tested at all this week, and Amelie will need to try to keep Clijsters on the move, especially if she cannot keep the points short.
Kim’s vulnerability right now is her movement and if she cannot run the points down, she will need to get most of her first serves in and play aggressively on the Mauresmo serve. If Amelie’s nerves start to factor into the match, you can look for her serve to go first.
Tomorrow’s final is a repeat of last year’s championship match. Mauresmo won that match in three sets 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, but Kim does lead 8-6 in past meetings.
If you enjoyed this tennis article, please sign up for a free subscription!
Sorry, comments for this entry are closed at this time.