THE tennisreporters.net NEWSLETTER: SUNDAY, AUGUST 24, NO. 42

Clijsters: 'I don't want to be mean … I want to win'
Henin-Hardenne: comments were 'a little bit stupid;' Federer: the pressure's on Andy; Sharapova 'I'm not here to play with Barbies;' Fish: I want to go deep

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

Fred Mullane/Camerawork USA, Inc.

FROM THE US OPEN – The only common theme amongst the women who strode into the press room Sunday on a spring-like afternoon at Flushing Meadows was the pink hats or visors they wore promoting the WTA new campaign, "Get in Touch With Your Feminine Side."

Other than that, Kim Clijsters, Justine Henin-Hardenne, Maria Sharapova and Ashley Harkleroad have different agendas at the '03 US Open but all have something to prove.

The same goes for men Roger Federer and Mardy Fish, who chatted amiably Sunday but shared only one common thread – they both lost to Andy Roddick this summer.

If Belgians Clijsters and Henin-Hardenne manage to reach the final 13 days from now, they are going to be so exhausted by questions regarding their spat that they may end up smooching and hugging at net before the primetime final. But despite what either of them said in press conference, they are not thrilled with each other.

All fans need to know is that they haven't spoken since they got into their "she-said, she-said," "she's faking, she's a sore loser" row in San Diego over whether Justine's injury time out to treat a blister was real or just an excuse to take a mental break.

"There's no tension," Clijsters said Sunday. "I think there's a rivalry. I don't think there's like any tension personally. ... I think a lot of people like to create something between us when there's nothing."

Recall that just two weeks ago, Clijsters told tennisreporters.net that she wanted revenge on Justine in New York. That's something.

Henin-Hardenne said she's put the incident behind her, but she sure didn't look like Clijsters lifelong buddy when she spoke.

Henin-Hardenne: comments were 'a little bit stupid'
"We have been friends for a long time," she said. "I think that Kim was really disappointed that she lost in San Diego, and she came in press just five minutes after the end of the match. So probably she has some regrets about what she said. I think it was a little bit stupid.... I forgot it. It's in the past I understand that sometimes it's hard to lose, but she has to accept that."

Davis Cup Captain Patrick McEnroe said recently that Clijsters hasn't been mean enough or hungry to win a Slam. Clijsters disagrees, but she'll have to be ravenous here.

"I am who I am," she said. "I'm not going to change that because he thinks I'm not mean enough. I don't want to be a mean person. I'd rather be known as a nice person than a mean person."

Clijsters is enjoying her newfound status as No. 1 and got the butterflies when she walked into Flushing Meadows Tuesday. "It was nice," she said. "It's nice to see the draw to see your name on top of the list there. It's definitely a sheet of paper that I will take home."

So, who's the favorite to win the title. No? 1 Kim, or Justine, who has beaten her the last two times? Henin-Hardenne has already won a Slam, so this isn't a mandatory, but if she wants to grab No. 1 and get it while the going is hot (as in when the Williamses are sidelined), she has to make her move now.

"I think Kim is probably the favorite," Henin-Hardenne said. "She's No. 1 in the world right now. She played so well in the last few weeks. On the paper, she is. On the court, we will see. Jennifer Capriati won last week. She looks like she's playing good tennis. … [But] I feel my game improved so much this year on hard court because physically I'm feeling better. Probably you look at me like one of the biggest favorite here, but I don't feel it right now."

Federer: the pressure's on Andy

Fred Mullane/Camerawork USA, Inc.

After he lost to Roddick for the first time in Montreal, Federer must have been given room for pause. The reigning Wimby champ is a tremendous all court player, but the defeat in Montreal did matter some and it's not like he's been the toast of the town here before, never advancing past the fourth round. But he could care less that folks are picking Roddick as the favorite.

"People can pick whoever they want," he said, "It doesn't matter much. They're going to be more talk about him than me and he's living under the pressure, not me. We'll see how he does."

Plus, Federer said he enjoys New York and now that he's won his first Slam, can kick back off court and kick his all court game into gear on the cement.

"The pressure I felt before hasn't been that much fun," said Federer, who could face Roddick in the semis. "I'm very happy to be over that stage. Now it's about proving I can win more than Wimbledon."

Sharapova ' I'm not here to play with Barbies'
Sharapova has a decent draw until the third round, when she could face Capriati. Since her coming out party at Wimbledon, Sharapova, hasn't done much, save for taking a set of Clijsters in LA and imploding against Elena Likhovsteva in Toronto. But the tall, shrieking Russian isn't here to lose early and call it a good experience.

"I want to win," she said. "I'm just saying that I haven't had the experience I would love coming into the tournament. I know this is the US Open, you know. It's not some Tier 5 in Asia or something. It's not like I'm here playing with Barbie dolls."

Harkleroad hasn't played much either post her upset of Daniela Hantuchova in Paris, due to an elbow injury that's still bothering her. She's done a lot of offcourt work in the past month but isn't match tough and will be hard pressed to take out Wimbledon junior champ Vera Douchevina in the first round.|

"I seem to be hitting the ball well," she said. "It's just a matter of going out and competing and fighting and trying to do my best.… No expectations, but I'm just going to go and play my best. I know that I can do it. Even though I have been injured, I know I'm hitting the ball well. I think I can play with the Top 10, Top 15."

Fish: I want to go deep
The 24th-seeded Fish is on the biggest roll of his career, having upset a slew of top-25 players to reach the final in Cincinnati and pushing Roddick to the wall there. He's seeded here for the first time and wants to go deep in the tournament. He'll face Joachim Johansson of Sweden in the first round and has a great chance to reach the quarters should he serve, volley and return as well as he did in Cincy.

"My confidence is probably as high as it's ever been," he said. "This is my first time being seeded, so that will be different. But like I said at Wimbledon, I got the one I was in awe of out of the way. I want to win and see how far I can go."