Clijsters turns heads with her hunger and wellbeing

Tennis/Women's Singles Second round: Kim Clijsters is causing a stir. There's just no keeping the 21-year-old Belgian down.

The wrist injury that threatened her career and kept her out of the game for more than 12 months has evidently healed up, but nobody warned the main draw at Roland Garros that, after just six events this year, she would arrive to the clay and turn heads with a full-on back court game.

Coming back onto the scene at Antwerp in February, a quarter final defeat there preceded an incredible run where she won back-to-back tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami, beating the then number one, two, three, five and sixth-ranked players in the world. Back in the infirmary with an injured knee, the Flemmish player should be struggling to get match fitness.

Still a little taped up around the knee, still not quite the dynamo around court, but Clijsters, retiring and humble off court, has covetous, greedy eyes for the Suzanne Lenglen trophy.

Following a 48-minute first round win on Monday, the 2003 finalist took just 56 minutes yesterday to dispose of Slovakia's Ludmila Cervanova 6-2 6-1. Clijsters is having it all her own way more than any other player in the main draw.

Lindsay Davenport again made her number one status look ephemeral and fragile against the little known battling Chinese player Shuai Peng.

The American, with her elegant strokes and six-foot plus frame, mixed her number one clinical game with a sluggishness that should cause concern, especially against tougher opponents who will run her more.

Lindsay went on holidays to Hawaii prior to the tournament as a warm-up. Well, there was a clay court on the island. She finally kicked herself out of holiday mode winning in three sets 3-6, 7-6, 6-0.

"I just didn't play that well," said Davenport. "I've felt that the last two matches were not at a high standard for me. I probably didn't come in with the best of strategies. Yeh, its not working out like it's supposed to. I definitely got lucky and escaped one today."

Last year's finalist Elena Dementieva needed a tie-break to win her first set against Sanda Mamic, but seemed to mentally take control in the second set for 7-6, 6-2, while Venus Williams, the 11th seed here, dropped a second set against Croatian Fabiola Zuluaga before winning 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

"I think it's surprised everybody," said Dementieva on Clijsters as well as Justine Hennin-Hardenne's return.

"Unbelievable comeback for Kim. It's amazing that they (the two Belgian players) got their injury at the same time and they're coming back at the same time.

"It's just amazing. They both look pretty strong for the moment," she added realising that the French Open is an endurance race, not a sprint.

But Clijsters, now sans her ex-boyfriend Lleyton Hewitt, is no dope when it comes to the two-week competitions.

"I didn't really get tested yet, which is okay just to get some match rhythm," she said.

"Mentally I have to accept that I'm not going to play my best tennis yet. That is something that can become frustrating at times."

Clijsters now faces into a third round match against the troubled Daniela Hantuchova, one of her good friends on the tour.

Hantuchova dramatically lost weight two years ago and genuine fears for her health became a regular talking point.

During a match at Wimbledon that year she appeared to break down, departing the grounds and the tournament fraught and in tears. But the kind words Clijsters has for her, which fell someway short of saying she's a serious threat, will undoubtedly melt away when they walk on court.

"She's a great friend of mine, a nice girl, she always fights, she always works hard. I grew up with her in juniors so I know her pretty well" said Clijsters.

That sounds very much like damnation by faint praise.