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Lleyton Hewitt, after his victory over Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final of the world indoor meet in Rotterdam, while world No. 2 Kim Clijsters poses with the gold-and-diamond racket after winning the Antwerp Open on Sunday. (Reuters/AFP) |
Brussels: For Kim and Lleyton, it was another day of “anything you can do, I can do better”. And they have a whole season ahead of them for a repeat performance.
Only one hour after Kim Clijsters won the Diamond Games tournament on home soil in Antwerp, her Fiancee Lleyton Hewitt added the ABN Amro title in nearby Rotterdam, the Netherlands. By nightfall the hottest couple in tennis was celebrating together in Clijsters’ hometown of Bree.
They will be back there in April too, for a good-humoured “love match”.
Last year, before their official engagement, they already won the Indian Wells titles on the same day.
On Sunday, Clijsters flashed her diamond engagement ring which went perfectly with the Antwerp trophy racket which has 1,702 diamonds encrusted in four kilograms of gold. “It is one of the most beautiful trophies of the year,” she said.
Unlike Hewitt, Clijsters had an easy match. She beat Italian veteran Silvia Farina Elia 6-3, 6-0 in the final to clinch her second title in as many weeks. It was her 21st overall — to go with her upcoming 21st birthday, she said.
And it proved she is back after an ankle injury affected her Australian campaign in January. She lost to fellow Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne in the Australian Open final, but bounced back with back-to-back wins in Paris and Antwerp.
“Since last week in Paris, I have been able to train full out again and it has done me so much good,” a glowing Clijsters said. “It even gave me goose bumps in my face,” Clijsters said. “This is why I want to return here. It is a good sign for the rest of the season.”
The same applies to Hewitt, who still has a lot to do to recapture his No. 1 ranking. Hewitt was seeded only sixth in Rotterdam, but made it seem like a mistake with a spirited performance, beating world No. 2 Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-7 (1-6), 7-5, 6-4.
Hewitt, a two-time major champion, overcame early serving jitters and grew in strength from the baseline to improve his record against Ferrero, the French open champion, to 5-3.