THE tennisreporters.net NEWSLETTER: TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, NO. 54

Henin-Hardenne still mad at Clijsters' camps,
says she and Kim aren't friends
Capriati working with Annacone; Hantuchova fires Sears;
Myskina names her own Fed Cup team

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

On Wednesday night, after the first night of play is completed at the $3 million Bank of American WTA Championships, it is likely that Kim Clijsters will say that that Justine Henin-Hardenne's comments that the two aren't friends and that she's still ticked off at Leo Clijsters are being overblown by the media.

But Henin-Hardenne had every opportunity on Tuesday to put the controversy behind her and in no way was pushed into saying things she didn't want to talk about.

She's a brutally, refreshingly honest person who's no longer willing to prop up the false image that the two are close just to make nice with those people who feel it's appropriate that everything on tour to appear warm and cozy.

Sitting a table away from Clijsters the day before WTA Championships begins, Henin-Hardenne said that mutual respect is all that's left in their relationship. Are they friends?

"No," Henin said. "Have we ever really been close friends? That's the question. We have a lot of respect for each other, traveled a lot together when we were young, we do the same job and come from the same country. It's not easy every day."

Clijsters said that the two's relationship is fine, but as she says frequently, she wants to be a nice person, make the nice gesture and doesn't like controversy, unless she feels like she's been seriously wronged.

"Everything has been blown out of proportion, but I don't want to start it again," she said. "I don't want to say too much about it, otherwise it would flare up again." But when told later about Henin-Hardenne's comments, Clijsters considered saying something else, telling an official, 'Maybe I should say something.' She didn't, but it will be interesting to exactly what she does say after her match against Elena Dementieva Wednesday.

Henin-Hardenne says she's still upset about the comments made after she tore apart Clijsters in the US Open final by Clijsters' father, Leo, and former Belgian pro Filip Dewulf. The two said that Henin-Hardenne's more muscular physique may not have just come from hard training she does off court with fitness guru Pat Etcheberry. Leo said something to the effect that the reason why Henin-Hardenne now has the upper hand in her rivalry with Kim is because Justine's "muscle mass has doubled and she now has an arms like Serena's."

No one said anything about illegal performance-enhancing substances, but it sure sounded like that's what they were pointing to.

"When you've worked so hard, give everything for this and win two Grand Slams, you make people jealous," Henin-Hardenne said. "I understand that, but you don't have to make it public. If anyone has any problem with me, they can come and talk to me about it. After the US Open, I saw who the good persons are around me."

Justine added that no one has directly apologized to her.

"No one came to me directly and said I'm really sorry for what happened," she said. "Dewulf wrote a letter to the press, but I think it's too late to do the kind of things. I had one problem with Lindsay Davenport in Zurich last year when I felt she wasn't so injured and I've had many regrets after that because you never know what happens. That was a good lesson for me and maybe a good lesson for these people who talked about me the last few weeks."

So now the two are essentially back where they were in the summer, when at San Diego, Clijsters accused her of faking an injury during Henin-Hardenne's three-set win over her in the final. Henin-Hardenne denied it, but because of the controversy that ensured, at the US Open, Justine refrained from calling for a trainer even though she was cramping badly during her marathon three-set win over Jennifer Capriati.

In a sense, Kim is caught up in something that is not entirely her own creation. She was the person who fired the first shots last summer, but she can't control what her dad or Dewulf says and she herself has said she doesn't believe that Henin-Hardenne is doing anything illegal.

However, none of Henin-Hardenne's off-court troubles have seriously effected her play. Should she reach the semifinals of this eight-woman, round robin event, she'll become the year-end No. 1 regardless of what Clijsters does.

"It's very special," said Henin-Hardenne, who is battling a fever. "Being No. 1 is something only 13 players have achieved in the past. If I can finish the year at No. 1, it would be great after the year I had. I'd like to come back in 2004 as No. 1."

Even if defending champion Clijsters repeats here, WTA officials say the very best she can do is drop 10 points off her total last year, when she took out Henin-Hardenne and both the Williamses to grab the crown. So, if Justine reaches the semis, Kim's hope of staying No. 1 is dust.

She has to hope that two players in Henin's Black group – Capriati, , Anastasia Myskina and Ai Sugiyama – take her down. Capriati will play Sugiyama on Wednesday while Henin-Hardenne won't face Myskina until Thursday.

Clijsters is in the Red Group, which includes Amelie Mauresmo, Elena Dementieva and Chanda Rubin. Should Henin-Hardenne fall, then No. 1 could still be hers.

"It's something on my mind, but it's not going to be on mind when I'm playing," she said. "I've had a great year. But it would be nice, like a having the icing on the cake."

You think she'll cut a piece for Justine?

Capriati working with Annacone; Hantuchova fires Sears;
Myskina names her own Fed Cup team
Pete Sampras' former coach, Paul Annacone, is here in LA working with Capriati, who hasn't been coached by anyone save for her father, Stefano, and brother, Steven, since her stint with Harold Solomon in 1999. They are working together on a trial basis.

Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova, who played in this tournament last year but after a terrible 2003 didn't qualify, has fired her coach, England's Nigel Sears. She hasn't hired a new coach yet.

The Russian Tennis Federation will wait until after the Championships to name its squad for the semis and (possible) final, but top Russian Anastasia Myskina said that if it's up to her, the team would consist of the nation's top four-ranked players: herself, Dementieva, Nadia Petrova and Vera Zvonareva, both whom are in LA as alternates. That would leave Elena Bovina off the team, but Myskina says that Petrova has been playing very well in doubles and would be fine in that spot.