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Clijsters recovers from surgery

By Ossian Shine
September 20, 2004 19:29 IST
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Belgian former world number one Kim Clijsters has recovered from wrist surgery and will return to tennis action next week at a low-key event in her homeland.

The 21-year-old, who missed the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open this year with torn wrist tendons complicated by a cyst, said on Monday she was completely recovered if still in a little pain.

"Good news from the doctors," she wrote in her online diary. "The wrist should now be completely recovered.

"When I am practising with more intensity, I still feel some pain, but that is quite normal ... nevertheless, I will try and prepare as thoroughly as possible for the Hasselt tournament."

The tournament, in its first year, is a low-key affair offering a total of just $170,000 prize money to be split among the 32-woman field.

Clijsters, who last week unveiled plans to marry Australian number one Lleyton Hewitt next February, has not played competitively since the beginning of May when she was forced to withdraw midway through a tournament in Berlin.

Her ranking has slipped from world number two to seventh since then and Clijsters is keen to get back to work.

TRAINING HARD

"In the last few days I have been training fairly hard," she said.

"Maybe still a little more cautiously than before, more in control. My backhand isn't completely what it should be, but I guess that won't take long now.

"Every time I hit the ball I still feel some pain, which should be due to the scar tissue only. Nothing to worry about, the doctors told me.

"Over the next few days, I will be increasing my training sessions. I will try to get ready as good as possible for the Gaz de France Stars tournament in Hasselt. It looks like it is going to be a beautiful tournament.

"Participating will not be easy for me after all those months without tennis. But I look forward to playing again and especially to be back in Belgium."

Clijsters is likely to be seeded first for the September 27-October 3 tournament.

French Open and U.S. Open runner-up Elena Dementieva will probably be second seed.

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Ossian Shine
Source: REUTERS
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