Filderstadt (Germany), Oct 07: World number one Kim Clijsters said the ankle injury she suffered last month is recovering as she puts her world number one ranking on the line in the WTA tournament here this week.
"I am not 100 per cent in shape, but the ankle gets better every day," Clijsters said yesterday. "It will be alright when it is strapped, so if nothing else happens to me, I will play."
The Belgian was forced to retire during her semi-final match against Anastasia Myskina in the Leipzig tournament on September 27 after twisting her ankle three days before the match when walking out of the players' lounge.
She has not played since and stands a real chance of losing her top ranking if she performs badly in the 650,000-dollar tournament.
Her rival and fellow Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne, currently ranked second, must reach the final and hope Clijsters does not in order to dethrone her from the number one spot. If Clijsters also makes the final, Henin-Hardenne must beat her.



The prospect does not faze Clijsters despite her defeats to Henin-Hardenne in the finals of the French and US Opens this year and the controversy over accusations by Clijsters' camp that Henin-Hardenne used performance enhancing drugs, claims that were hastily retracted.



As top seed, Clijsters will probably not play her first match until Thursday when she is likely to face Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova who is playing a qualifier in the first round.


Bureau Report