"Some things still need a lot of improvement. That's why it's good to play matches"
Wednesday 4 March 2020 07:53, UK
Kim Clijsters says she was looking forward to getting more matches under her belt and improving after losing to Britain's Johanna Konta in Monterrey on Tuesday.
The Belgian former world No 1 was playing just her second match since retiring from tennis at the 2012 US Open and despite showing glimpses of her superb ball-striking ability, she could not stop Konta from sealing her first win of the year.
Clijsters, who lost to Spain's Garbine Muguruza in her first match since returning to the WTA Tour at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships last month, believes she still has lost to work on.
I've been through different generations and played many players throughout my whole career.
"I felt some things were better," four-time Grand Slam champion, Clijsters said after the match. "Some things still need a lot of improvement. That's why it's good to play matches. In Dubai, I didn't start well because I was overwhelmed, but today I started and served much better than I did there.
"Those are a few of the positive things, and the points that have to be better, I'll work very hard to improve them for other matches.
"I've been through different generations and played many players throughout my whole career. I'm still at a stage where I want to focus on what I'm doing and how I'm feeling, and also start reading my opponents.
"It's a process that I have to trust and keep working hard to improve in every match I play. I'd like to take big steps but I have to focus on small steps and improving day by day."
Konta called Clijsters an "incredible ball-striker" and said she felt "honoured" to have played the 36-year-old.
"As a young player, I never thought I'd get to play Kim Clijsters in my career," Konta said during the on-court interview. "I feel truly privileged and honoured to share the court with such a champion. It's nice to have her back.
"It was very tough. She's an incredible ball-striker. Her ability to do things with the ball is what made her a multiple Grand Slam champion. It's why she was able to come back and play, in her second match back after seven years, at a level like this. That's not exactly an every day thing, that's for sure.
"I feel so honoured to have played her, and really happy with my performance."
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