How many total slams will Clijsters have by the end of her career?

[drwood]

How many total slams will Clijsters have by the end of her career? I think she could easily win 4-5 more if she plays 3-4 more years -- she's only 26 and in great shape (obviously).

Her biggest problem was choking in finals before...with that out of the way now, no reason she can't win even more slams.

 

[grafselesfan]

It is hard to say. I dont think she will ever win Wimbledon. She isnt even as good on grass as Henin, and even Henin never won there. The other 3 slams she could be a major contender for. The French seems wide open for her to dominate in fact if Justine doesnt return. The Australian and U.S Open she could definitely be one of the favorites too.

 

[Bruguera]

She should have kept playing while all the greats retired, the Williams Sisters passed their prime, and all these unproven young commoditties bursted on the scene.. She may have a few more slams to her resume right now.. She should have just toughed it out IMO.. Then worry about the kids and husband later

 

[drwood]

It is hard to say. I dont think she will ever win Wimbledon. She isnt even as good on grass as Henin, and even Henin never won there. The other 3 slams she could be a major contender for. The French seems wide open for her to dominate in fact if Justine doesnt return. The Australian and U.S Open she could definitely be one of the favorites too.

She's easily better on clay than any present player -- including Kuznetsova, and on grass she's not great, but she's better than Dementieva who had MP on Serena this year at Wimbledon.

I'm really happy for Clijsters...she took so much heat so many years for being too nice and being a choker...its nice to see her winning slams.

This will probably be good for Safina as well, b/c no one will be talking about her for the next 4-5 months, especially given Serena's behavior in the SF.

 

[federerfanatic]

I honestly think she will win atleast 4 more, so atleast 6. The overall WTA field is weak now, Venus unfortunately is already past her prime, and Serena isnt even getting any younger. Granted Serena is only a couple years older than Kim but a couple years closer to being likely more past your prime is significant. Maria looks like she might not ever come back to form due to her shoulder, serving, and now maybe confidence woes. Plus even if she did a motivated Kim can deal with her IMO, though a back to top form Maria would obviously be a contender and threat also. That plus Kim winning only 1 slam before was a bit of a fluke. She really should have won multiple slams back in her first prime from 2001-2005 and that she didnt was for a variety of reasons but should have happened even then. So she is definitely good enough, and the field is weaker now to boot. She isnt that young anymore herself but young enough she probably has 3-4 strong years in her if she really wants to.

I agree with drwood if she is back to her old form she clearly should be the favorite on clay. Henin was the one keeping her from winning the French Open before, so Henin coming back would be a big potential roadblock, but barring that she really could be the one to beat there the next few years. Australia she is certainly capable of winning, she has come close in the past and Serena's hard fought recent wins there are fully deserved but certainly not commanding all the same. U.S Open of course she is a contender to win again, she has won it twice now. Wimbledon would be her hardest but other than the Williams it is not like anyone is that great on grass left, and Venus will be 30 by next years Wimbledon.

 

[Polaris]

Maan, I'm still grinning from ear to ear after watching Jada Clijsters competing with the trophy for Kim's attention, and here you guys are already making career projections.

It hasn't been 30 minutes since the match. Smell the roses for a while, folks!

 

[Arafel]

Kim had a good chance at winning the 2006 AO. She was competing hard with Amelie in the third set in their semi when she rolled her ankle and had to retire. I could see her winning the AO in January is she stays healthy and if she stays motivated.

 

[grafselesfan]

Kim had a good chance at winning the 2006 AO. She was competing hard with Amelie in the third set in their semi when she rolled her ankle and had to retire. I could see her winning the AO in January is she stays healthy and if she stays motivated.

She was a real contender there a number of times even though she never won.

2002- lost a tough 3 set semifinal with Capriati. Could have won the first set which she lost 7-5, won the second, and was outplayed in the 3rd. Had she been a bit tougher at the end of the first set she probably wins. Hingis in the final would have been 50-50 around then especialy as Hingis by now as a mess mentally.

2003- choked a 5-1 lead away vs an off form but as usual very determined and gutsy Serena Williams in the semis. Would have played Venus in the final for the title otherwise.

2004- lost a very tough 3 set final to her nemisis Henin.

2005- unlucky to miss it this year as this probably would have been her best shot yet.

2006- you already mentioned what happened.

2007- wasnt really motivated by then, but lost in the semis to Maria. She looked so good in the warmup Mary Joe and many others actually picked her to win.

 

[OnceWas]

if she can stay healthy, two or three more seem reasonable.

 

[bluetrain4]

It all depends on how long she will be around.

Is she committed to 3-5 full years on tour?
I said this on another thread -- now everything is new again, fresh, fun. But, will the grind of a full schedule get to her again?

Certainly if she plays a full schedule for a few years and stays healthy, she can,and probably will, win more Slams.

But, as great as she is, she's not, by any means, unbeatable. Simply from a tennis perspective (don't want to get into the whole incident thing), Serena can still beat her. I don't think Venus will be as much of a problem, but she can defintely beat her under the right conditions (such as at Wimbledon). And, Kim is prone to some streaky play, so there may be unexpected losses, as there is with everyone.

I say this only to deflect the tendency for TWers, once a person has won something and played great, to assume that she or he will win everything for the foreseeable future. Yet, it rarely ever happens like that.

But, the future looks great. So, If she is around, playing a full schedule for 3-5 years, I think she can win 3-5 more Slams.

It's great to have her back.

 

[THUNDERVOLLEY]

She's easily better on clay than any present player -- including Kuznetsova, and on grass she's not great, but she's better than Dementieva who had MP on Serena this year at Wimbledon.

Dementieva's near-win is due to the peculiar nature of her skills vs. Serena--that does not transfer to Clijsters because you feel she is better than Dementieva.

I'm really happy for Clijsters...she took so much heat so many years for being too nice and being a choker...its nice to see her winning slams.

A slam. One upon her return. This is no guarantee she will ever win another--especially if she faces more than a practice dummy (like the one in the final).

This will probably be good for Safina as well, b/c no one will be talking about her for the next 4-5 months, especially given Serena's behavior in the SF.

Do not count on it; Safina's problems still exist: she cannot win slams, and with each passing year, the talk can only grow--the nature of sports.

 

[federerfanatic]

I think somewhere from 3-7 more so between 5-9 total. This is how I break it down:

Australian Open- 1 or 2 here
French Open- 2 or 3 here (will revise this probably if Henin returns)
Wimbledon- probably 0, though not impossible
U.S Open- 1 or 2 more here

 

[koopa_troopa]

I don't know if she will win many more. In her best years she won only 1 GS. It would be very interesting if Henin came back.

 

[lambielspins]

I don't know if she will win many more. In her best years she won only 1 GS. It would be very interesting if Henin came back.

You have to keep in mind a number of things when you simplify it to that degree.

1. The womens field overall isnt that strong anymore now, it is much worse than back what it was in her so called prime from 2001-2005. She could win alot more just playing at the same level with the decreased competition. Kim was unlucky to face some incredibly strong competition then- peak Venus, peak Serena, peak Justine. Those were the main 3 usually above her, but behind her there was also Davenport, Capriati, and many others. On the flip side, she is fortunate to be returning to such a weak field now with a clearly past her best Serena as her biggest obstacle for now.

2. Who is to say that was her prime more than now. She can be back at as high or higher a level if she wants it badly enough. Some think she already hit that level at this U.S Open and it can only potentialy improve. She is 26 now so she isnt too old to have another prime.

3. She was unlucky to only win 1 slam in many ways:

a. She missed a whole year injured from February 2004-March 2005 where inferior players like a young Sharapova, Kuznetsova, and Myskina all won slams. She probably would have another 1-3 more already otherwise.

b. She had a huge mental bloc vs Henin, the games dominant women player from mid 2003 until and after Kim's retirement.

c. She lost some incredibly close matches that could have gone either way, such as the 01 FO final with Capriati, and a few semis and finals to the eventual champion in Australia.

 

[drwood]

Dementieva's near-win is due to the peculiar nature of her skills vs. Serena--that does not transfer to Clijsters because you feel she is better than Dementieva.

Prime Clijsters is better than Prime Dementieva on grass.

A slam. One upon her return. This is no guarantee she will ever win another--especially if she faces more than a practice dummy (like the one in the final).

You mean like Venus or Serena who she beat to reach the final? No way Clijsters doesn't win another major if she continues to play this well.

Do not count on it; Safina's problems still exist: she cannot win slams, and with each passing year, the talk can only grow--the nature of sports.

Safina will benefit from not being in the spotlight...she hasn't been the same since she melted down in the French final -- actually reminds me a lot of 03 Clijsters.

 

[grafselesfan]

I say 3 to 5 which means 1 to 3 more. I would be surprised if she doesnt win another one but also surprised if she wins alot more. I am not sold she is over her so called choking problems based on today. She was very nervous but as TV mentioned she was essentialy facing a practice dummy. Serena most days will still probably beat her outside of clay, and even on clay I am not sure Kim is the near mortal lock to beat Serena that Justine might have been. On grass Venus is presumably still better barring a big fall off in form, and in good health could potentialy even beat her on a fast hard court still unless the aging effect is too much at this point. As much as I am not a fan an in form Maria is a tough opponent for Kim on any non-clay surface I would imagine. Not that she would dominate Kim but they would play each other pretty evenly on a hard court I am thinking. Some of you are talking about Justine's return and like Serena she is a superior player to Kim based on their history and achievements. Wozniacki and Oudin both show real potential and could improve futher. Kuznetsova has won 2 slams, the same # as Kim. Even the likely forever slamless dummies like Safina, Dementieva, Azarenka could maybe upset her once in awhile, not often, but it even 1 time is a lost opportunity.

Time will tell I suppose. Maybe she will do the amazing things some of you are predicting but at this point it is jumping the gun a bit IMO.

 

[drwood]

I say 3 to 5 which means 1 to 3 more. I would be surprised if she doesnt win another one but also surprised if she wins alot more. I am not sold she is over her so called choking problems based on today. She was very nervous but as TV mentioned she was essentialy facing a practice dummy. Serena most days will still probably beat her outside of clay, and even on clay I am not sure Kim is the near mortal lock to beat Serena that Justine might have been. On grass Venus is presumably still better barring a big fall off in form, and in good health could potentialy even beat her on a fast hard court still unless the aging effect is too much at this point. As much as I am not a fan an in form Maria is a tough opponent for Kim on any non-clay surface I would imagine. Not that she would dominate Kim but they would play each other pretty evenly on a hard court I am thinking. Some of you are talking about Justine's return and like Serena she is a superior player to Kim based on their history and achievements. Wozniacki and Oudin both show real potential and could improve futher. Kuznetsova has won 2 slams, the same # as Kim. Even the likely forever slamless dummies like Safina, Dementieva, Azarenka could maybe upset her once in awhile, not often, but it even 1 time is a lost opportunity.

Time will tell I suppose. Maybe she will do the amazing things some of you are predicting but at this point it is jumping the gun a bit IMO.

I don't remember Clijsters having trouble with prime Sharapova -- she handled her in the 05 US Open SF and led the overall H2H 4-3 -- seems fairly even to me.

 

[grafselesfan]

I don't remember Clijsters having trouble with prime Sharapova -- she handled her in the 05 US Open SF and led the overall H2H 4-3 -- seems fairly even to me.

Well you are saying it was fairly even and bring up their correctly nearly tied head to head, yet before that you say you dont remember her having trouble with Maria. Isnt that a contradiction of sorts? If she wasnt even having trouble with prime Maria she wouldnt be up only 4-3 and 1-1 in slams. I dont recall all their matches off the top of my head, but I do recall Kim beating Maria twice in 2005, however Maria getting her back beating her in 2006 on hard courts and in the 2007 Australian Open semis. Also any matches they played before the 2004 French Open is not "prime Maria". I never implied I think if Maria returned to form she would dominate Kim, but she could compete with her in that case probably, and their even head to head we are both referring to indicates that. Also remember Maria has 1 more slam title than Kim at this exact point, despite being only 22 years old. Of course Maria might never return to form so it could well be a moot point.

 

[grafselesfan]

Prime Clijsters is better than Prime Dementieva on grass.

I dont think THUNDERVOLLEY is implying Dementieva is better than Clijsters on grass. He is referring that she is a tougher matchup for Serena than Clijsters. Compare Dementieva's head to head with Serena to Clijster's head to head with Serena and you will see what he means.