Clijsters Goes Coast to Coast

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. â€”  East or west, the Clijsters act is playing best these days.

Not since Mrs. Andre Agassi was Steffi Graf had any woman hit the California-Florida double successfully. Not until a rejuvenated Kim Clijsters Belgian-waffled the women’s bracket at Indian Wells two weeks ago and did the same here Saturday beside the choppy sea.

In the desert, she had victimized No. 1-ranked Lindsay Davenport. Here, on the island at Crandon Park, Clijsters stopped No. 3 Maria Sharapova, 6-3, 7-5, in the final of the Nasdaq-100 Open. Graf is the only other woman to have conquered the tournaments back to back, having accomplished the feat twice, in 1994 and 1996.

Swirling winds, gusts from 24 to 37 mph, two rain delays and the shrieking determination of Sharapova on each shot didn’t deter Clijsters from racking up her 14th consecutive match victory -- and her 16th in 17 matches this year.

Bouncing back as high as she was low when doctors told her that her career might be over, Clijsters began putting together her game as soon as her injured left wrist was pronounced up to tournament usefulness. That medical decision was a long time coming. After her initial tendon injury at Indian Wells in 2004, she had spent nearly a year in the care of physicians, going through braces, casts, surgery and seemingly endless rehab.

Six of her 14 victories have come against residents of the top-10 rankings -- No. 6 Anastasia Myskina, No. 5 Elena Dementieva and No. 2 Amelie Mauresmo all lost to Clijsters at Key Biscayne before the final.

Ranked 133rd when she was given a wild-card berth at Indian Wells, Clijsters had boosted herself to 38th before playing here -- then became the only unseeded woman to win this 21-year-old tournament. With the title, she will move up to 17th in the rankings.

Also riding a streak, and seeking the west-east combination, No. 1-ranked Roger Federer, winner of his last 21 matches, takes on No. 31 Rafael Nadal, an 18-year-old Spanish left-hander, for the men’s title today. Nadal beat Federer here a year ago in the third round.

Saturday, competing against Sharapova and the wind, Clijsters was a brilliant improviser, “changing tactics from one side to the other with the wind with me or against me.�

“I think the difference was I was more patient than Maria,� the 21-year-old Belgian said.

That paid off in Clijsters’ making only 30 unforced errors to Sharapova’s 34 and in the Belgian’s scrambling to steal points that seemed to belong to the 17-year-old Russian.

“And that break point in the second set [seventh game] was important. To me and her,� Clijsters said.

Sharapova had a short smash at the net to put away the point, but Clijsters anticipated the direction. Like an outfielder racing back to make a catch at the wall, she somehow overtook the ball, raised a towering lob through the breeze and eventually stole the wild point with an angled backhand to take a 4-3 lead, wowing the crowd of 11,749.

The Russian fought back, breaking to even the set at 5-5 when Clijsters served for the match. A tiebreaker seemed to loom.

“I got a little sloppy, didn’t push her,� Sharapova explained.

Clijsters said her comeback has reminded her how much she loves the game and big matches.

“All this made me realize how much I missed it,� she said. “I think it made me maybe a more mature person, the appreciation. I enjoyed being at home at first, but after a while I got homesick for the tour.�

Homesick for the road?

She’s back on it, skipping the Belgium-U.S. Federation Cup series April 23-24 at Delray Beach, Fla., to return to her preferred clay courts of Europe, where the Clijsters act should play very well in Rome and Paris.