(Hasselt, Belgium) “I will certainly play at Wimbledon next year, and after that, we will see what happens,” Kim Clijsters said in an interview held on Belgian television. At the end of the 2007 season, Clijsters might end her tennis career and exchange tennis for motherhood. The Belgian tennis star has plans to marry her American fiancée and basketball player Brian Lynch in the summer of 2007. Clijsters confirmed that 2007 is going to be her last year as a pro tennis player.
Clijsters never made a secret of the fact that she is tired of living as a pro tennis player. The daily grind of playing, the travelling, the pressure to perform, and the string of injuries have been asking a lot from the 24 year old. She is determined to fulfil her wishes to start a family and being a young mother.

Clijsters still found enough determination to work on her comeback and play the Gaz de France Stars in Hasselt, which is close to her home in Bree. She will also play at the season-ending championships in Madrid after Patty Schnyder did not succeed to reach the spot in the final in Linz last week. The Swiss lost the semifinal to Maria Sharapova in a close 7:5 and 7:5. The Russian took the Generali Ladies Linz title, defeating her compatriot Nadia Petrova in the final.

“I am very excited to play the year-ending championships in Madrid, but maybe it’s too soon to compete against the other players,” Clijsters said in Monday’s press conference. She is hoping she can use the Gaz de France Stars tournament as a warm up and getting back into the rhythm for Madrid.

“I play week by week, and each week I will see how things are going next season. You have to schedule your plans for the WTA twice a year, so I have made my plans until Wimbledon. After Wimbledon, I don’t know what tournaments I will be playing. I will be playing somewhere, but I have no schedule for that. It also depends on how we organize things for our marriage after Wimbledon.

“I don’t have any expectations for next season. I didn’t even know if I could get myself motivated to come back again after another wrist injury. I am not going to play many tournaments, and certainly not more than three in a row.

“Australia is important next year, and I will try to peak at Wimbledon as well. That means I will minimize the clay court tournaments. Clay courts always have been tough to play for me. I might play the Italian Open and Roland Garros and skip the rest of the clay courts.

“ I am playing tennis for three weeks now, mostly in the swimming pool to reduce the resistance. I am feeling much better than I did with my wrist injury two years ago here in Hasselt. After the injury, I didn’t do much. I was home. I spent time with my sister and my friend Caroline (Maes). Tripping over the dog was about the most exciting thing I did,” Clijsters said.

When she was asked what she would chose to be her last tournament that she would play, she answered it would be the Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp.

(Hasselt, Belgium) At the third edition of the Gaz de France Stars in Hasselt, the organisation added four more players to the list of withdrawals. The Tier III tournament, planned on a strategic date just before the year-ending championships, is losing some of the key players that were already in the main draw. This time, top seed Nadia Petrova withdrew because of fatigue, just like Katarina Srebotnik. Maria Kirilenko withdrew with a hip injury, and Nicole Vaidisova called in sick.
After two Russian players, Anastasia Myskina and Dinara Safina, withdrew earlier last Thursday, Frenchwoman Mary Pierce along with Swiss Patty Schnyder also withdrew from the tournament. Pierce is suffering from a major knee injury that might end her career, and Patty Schnyder called tournament director Bob Verbeeck to tell him that she was too tired to come to Belgium.

Players who cancel too late will have to pay the WTA a fine from $5,000 to $10,000 at this Tier III tournament. The fines at a Tier I are much higher, but so is the prize money, which might be a reason to overcome fatigue and show up after all. The players who arrived in Hasselt were surprised about how many players withdrew in the last days. Due to the long list of withdrawals, a second draw had to be made for the Gaz de France Stars in Hasselt, Belgium.

Top-seeded Maria Sharapova of Russia collected her fifth title of the season by beating second seed and fellow Russian Nadia Petrova in the final round of the Generali Ladies Linz in Austria, 7-5,6-2 in one hour and twenty-two minutes.

Sharapova drew first blood by breaking Petrova’s serve in the first game of the match. Petrova, though, was quick to race to a 5-3 lead over Sharapova. However, an inspired Sharapova battled back from 40-15 and double set point, halting Petrova’s charge. The Russian teenager made a great comeback, as she won the next four games to secure the first set, 7-5.

In the second set, Sharapova took charge, as she led Petrova 3-2 and surrendered just one point. Sharapova never gave Petrova any chance to get back into the game, as she finished the match by winning the next three games for a 6-2 second set win. With her win over Petrova, Sharapova is now 5-1 in career head-to-head wins.

Throughout the tournament, Sharapova never dropped a set, but her way to claiming the title was by no means a walk in the park. She has to exert a lot of efforts in beating players like Ana Ivanovic and Patty Schnyder. Petrova, meanwhile, had a solid week, with several easy matches.

“It’s been an incredible year,” said Sharapova. “Winning another major has been great. It’s been a really cool year. I’ve been consistent and have had some great results.”

“I am so disappointed,” Petrova said. “I really got my chances in the first set. But after missing them, I just did not play up to my usual standards anymore.”

Maria Sharapova dashed Patty Schnyder’s hopes of qualifying in the season ending Sony Ericsson Championships. Though Schnyder fought valiantly, there was nothing she could do as Sharapova kept her winning form and won, 7-5, 7-5, in one hour and forty-six minutes at the Genarali Ladies Linz, in Austria. Fellow Russian Nadia Petrova, this year’s defending champion, will be Sharapova’s opponent in the final. Petrova sweep past Czech Nicole Vaidisova, 6-1, 6-2 in just fifty-eight minutes.
Sharapova led Schnyder, 5-3 in the first set and was on the verge of taking the first set. Just then, Schnyder regrouped and Sharapova could only watch as the Swiss clawed her way to even the score at 5-5. Then, Sharapova won the next two games, to win the first set 7-5. In the second set, Sharapova led Shnyder 6-5. After failing to conver her two previous match points Sharapova then successffuly converted her third match point, sealing the match with an ace.
“I had to adjust my game since she’s a tricky player, a lefty,” said Sharapova.I let the match out of my hands for a little but I was mentally tough and able to finish the match and win. I’m happy.”

Petrova on the other hand had an easy victory over Vaidisova. Aided With an excellent eighty-nine percent first serve, Petrova sailed into the final round in no time at all, breaking her opponent’s serve four times in the process.

“I had no problems, and I’m very satisfied with my game today,” said Petrova. I felt a little more focused than when we last played. I took my opportunities and that helped me take the lead. It worked well, I feel consistent and I was concentrated every point.”

Sharapova holds a 4-1 lead over Petrova in career head-to-head wins. Sharapova though should not take her next match with Petrova slightly as Petrova had been in good form and did a great run these past weeks.

“I haven’t played Nadia in a while but she’s been playing some big tennis so I just have to go out there and find a way to win,” said Sharapova when asked of the next match.

“For sure it’ll be an exciting final tomorrow,” Petrova said. “I’m sure it will be a battle but I’m looking forward to it and just hope I hold the trophy at the end.”

In a rare occasion, the top four seeds of the Generali Ladies Linz advanced into the semifinal round. Top seed Maria Sharapova won, although was stretched by Serbian Ana Ivanovic, 7-6(3), 7-5. Second seeded Nadia Petrova meanwhile had an easy match against Samantha Stosur, 6-1, 6-3. While still holding on to her hopes of earning a berth in the season-ending Sony Ericsson Championships in Madrid, Patty Schnyder, seeded third, rolled past Vera Zvonareva,7-6(2), 6-4. Czech teenager, Nicole Vaidisova meanwhile relied on her aces in disposing of Serbian Jelena Jankovic, 5-7,7-6(5),6-4.

Sharapova was tested in the first set by first-time opponent Ivanovic. With the Russian serving for the first set at 5-4, Ivanovic held off Sharapova’s charge by breaking her serve to even the match at 5-5. Two games later, both players held their respective serves and pushed the first set for a tiebreaker, which Sharapova handily won. In the second set, Sharapova was serving for the match at 5-3 when she double faulted to hand the game to Ivanovic who clawed her way back by leveling the set at 5-5. Sharapova then showed her mettle by winning the next two games to win their first ever meeting 7-6(3), 7-5.

“When you play someone at a pretty high level for the first time, it takes a while to get used to it; you don’t know what to expect from the first point,” Sharapova said. “She seemed to be going for her shots often, and some came unbelievably hard and deep, and were pretty consistent in the first set. At some times they’re like a loose cannon and you don’t know what’s going to happen - that’s difficult.I didn’t really finish it off in both sets, but credit to her, she hung in there and played a good game in the first set to get back into it. Definitely, in the second set, I had two double faults and made a few sloppy errors. But I hung in there, too.”

Sharapova’s opponent will be Swiss Patty Schnyder who cruised past Zvonareva. Schnyder used up all her varied court moves in countering Zvonareva’s powerful shots. Schnyder went on to win the first set by closing out the tiebreak. In the second set, Schnyder showed her guile by breaking Zvonareva in the crucial game to set up a meeting with the top-seeded Sharapova.

The other semifinal pits Nadia Petrova against Nicole Vaidisova. Petrova easily won her match angainst Stosur while Vaidisova had to play Jankovic for over two hours before emerging victorious.