Perth, Jan 06: Clijsters has been training in Adelaide with Hewitt, a former Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion. While the Australian has bulked up and added power to his game, Clijsters is looking faster than ever around the court. "I've been doing a lot of sprints in Adelaide and that has really helped," the 20-year-old said. Hantuchova felt the effects of Clijsters's training. "She was just so powerful, so quick... I have to give her all the credit," she said. "She really deserves to be where she is at."
While Clijsters was impeccable on day two of the mixed team event, Malisse looked rusty during his encounter. A powerful first set was in stark contrast to the second when he allowed Kucera to dominate. But Malisse found his form as quickly as it had deserted him in the third set, racing through it 6-1 to complete the Belgian win.


"Yeah, I was pretty rusty," he said. "It was tough to be consistent so I'm happy to have won. It is always going to be difficult at the start of the year."


Bureau Report