Kim Clijsters: "Seeing Monica Seles, Steffi Graf and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario at the French Open was a dream come true"
Kim Clijsters recently revealed that seeing the likes of legends like Monica Seles, Steffi Graf and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario at the French Open was a dream come true for her.
The Belgian was the most recent addition to the "Memories of a Champion" series on the clay-court Major's YouTube channel.
Clijsters noted that, having been raised on clay courts, watching the French Open as a little girl was her first connection to tennis. She added that seeing former champions Steffi Graf, Monica Seles and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in action at the tournament was a dream come true for her.
"I was raised on clay. My first ever tennis lesson was on clay and watching Roland Garros when I was a little girl, it was definitely my first connection to tennis. Seeing Monica Seles, Steffi Graf, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario [at the French Open] to me was like a dream come true," Kim Clijsters said.
The Belgian also recalled her compatriot Filip Dewulf reaching the French Open semifinals in 1997 and said that moments like that made her dream to be in a similar situation some day.
"I remember when I was a little older, Felipe Dewulf, he made it to the semifinal and I remember how the whole country was cheering for him, and those moments have an impact. As a child when you're playing tennis, you wish and you hope one day... you dream to be in this situation," Clijsters said.
Kim Clijsters squared off against each of Steffi Graf, Monica Seles and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
Kim Clijsters took on all three of Steffi Graf, Monica Seles and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in her career. The Belgian's only match against Graf came in the fourth round of the 1999 Wimbledon Championships, with the German winning 6-2, 6-2.
Clijsters also had just one meeting against Monica Seles in the quarterfinals of the 2002 Miami Open (then known as the NASDAQ-100 Open). The Belgian won the opening set 6-4 but Seles bounced back to win the next two sets 6-3, 6-3.
Clijsters, however, fared much better against Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, winning in each of their four meetings, the first of which came in the second round of the 2000 Sparkassen Cup in Leipzig.
The Belgian then beat the Spaniard in the opening round of that year's WTA Finals (then known as the Chase Championships) before triumphing over her in New Haven in 2001.
The final meeting between Clijsters and Sanchez Vicario came in the quarterfinals of the 2001 WTA Finals (then known as the Sanex Championships), with the Belgian winning 7-5, 6-1.