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Toddler Jada Ella watched on oblivious as super-mum Kim Clijsters staked a claim for the greatest comeback in tennis history with an emotional US Open final victory.
Unranked and just three tournaments into her comeback from 27 months out of the game, Clijsters wept tears of joy after downing Danish teenager Caroline Wozniacki 7-5 6-3 in 93 minutes at Flushing Meadows on Sunday.
Tennis fans have witnessed some amazing revivals over the years – Monica Seles taking out the 1996 Australian Open two-and-a-half years after being stabbed by a spectator in Hamburg, Jennifer Capriati triumphing in Melbourne in 2001 after almost a decade in the wilderness and Goran Ivanisevic winning Wimbledon as a wildcard the same season.
But Clijsters’ remarkable return has surely trumped the lot.
Never mind that Clijsters is the first mother since Australian great Evonne Goolagong at Wimbledon in 1980 – and only the third in the Open era – to win a grand slam crown, the 26-year-old Belgian wasn’t even playing competitively a month ago.
“I don’t have words for this. I’m just glad I got to come back to defend my title from 2005,” Clijsters said.
“This has been so exciting for me and not really our plan, I guess. I just wanted to start these three tournaments and just to get back into the rhythm of playing tennis and just to get used to the surroundings again.
“I have to thank the USTA for giving me the wildcard to come back here.”
Clijsters, who married former US basketballer Bryan Lynch in 2007, said having her 18-month-old daughter in the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd made her spectacular triumph more special.
“We tried to plan her nap time a little bit later today so she could be here,” the former world No.1 said.
“It’s the greatest feeling in the world being a mother and I just can’t wait to spend the next few weeks with her and just to have her routine (and) schedule at home with her.
“She’s been great being in New York a lot. Besides practising and playing my matches, we just tried to keep it really fun for her as well, and that’s really helped me to keep my mind off all the craziness a little bit.
“It’s really helped me a lot, but I’m just really happy to be going back home to normal family life again.”
In ousting Venus and Serena Williams en route to the title, Clijsters joined Martina Hingis and countrywoman Justine Henin as the only players to beat both superstar sisters at the same grand slam tournament.
Her stunning success – which also earned her $US1.6 million ($A1.86 million) and an almighty rankings leap to the world’s top 20 – is the latest chapter in a storied sporting career for the entire Clijsters family.
Her father Leo, who died in January, was one of Belgium’s most famous soccer players, while her mother Els was a top gymnast and her younger sister Elke also a former touring tennis professional.
Clijsters had retired in May of 2007 and, until the start of this year, said she hadn’t missed the game at all.
But an invitation to play an exhibition match under the new centre-court roof at Wimbledon this year got her back on court and stoked her competitive fires.
She first played World TeamTennis before returning to WTA level in Cincinnati last month.
Her impact was immediate, Clijsters reaching the quarter-finals and then the third round in Toronto.
But Clijsters could never have imagined winning a second US Open so soon, especially after it took her four grand slam final defeats in four years before she even managed to land her first and only previous major title in New York in ’05.
One of the most popular players on the WTA Tour, Clijsters recalled last week how she “felt like an elephant” in the preliminary stages of her comeback following the birth of Jada Ella in February, 2007.
“Your body just feels so different,” she said.
“I had a good feeling when the ball was coming towards me, but just moving was absolutely terrible. I felt like an elephant sometimes just trying to move. Yeah, even two steps was terrible.”
Wozniacki, contesting her maiden grand slam final at just 19, had been bidding to become Denmark’s first major champion in professional tennis history.
Alas, the rising teenager, with a tour-high 62 wins already this year, had to settle for a jump to a career-high No.6 in the world and a cheque for $US800,000 ($A927,800).
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