Kim Clijsters and Rafael Nadal are very different players and yet they both possess very similar qualities that make them extremely tough competitors on their respective tours.

Content with her achievements in tennis, Kim Clijsters retired from tennis at the age of 24 back in May of 2007 to start a family. She married Brian Lynch in July of 2007 and they now have baby girl Jada Ellie born in February of 2008. Her career statistics include 34 WTA singles titles and 11 WTA doubles titles, with her best result coming in 2005 winning the US Open. She was twice a singles runner up at the French Open and a one time runner up at the Australian Open, also reaching two Wimbledon singles semifinals.

Her comeback out of retirement began with an invitation to play in an exhibition under the All England Club's new retractable roof with past tennis greats Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, and Tim Henman. As she considered the invitation and the honor of playing with this group, she also knew that if she were to play she was determined not to embarrass herself. So she publicly declared her intent to return to the WTA tour in the summer and started training in February 2009. She made her first appearance back into tennis when Wimbledon saw tennis played under cover for the first time this May 2009. The foursome was featured in a mixed doubles, men's singles and women's singles matches. Clijsters had caught the bug... the tennis bug. The passion still lives.

In August 2009 she received a wildcard entry into the Cincinnati tournament and started her comeback by beating three top 20 players, Marion Bartoli, Patty Schnyder, and Svetlana Kuznetsova, en route to the quarterfinals, where she lost to world number one, Dinara Safina 6-2, 7-5. At the Rogers Cup in Toronto she also had a good outing by making it to the quarterfinals, eventually losing to Jelena Jankovic 2-6, 6-3, 7-5. She doesn't appear to have missed a beat. Clijsters' comeback is most welcome not just for the excitement she brings to tennis but also for her bubbly and likeable personality so lacking at the top levels. She is known for her deep, powerful ground strokes and her all court defense, all highlighted by her speed and athleticism. Despite her affable personality she is tenacious on the court, always forcing her opponent to hit an extra shot because she will make every effort to get every ball back. Sound familiar?

Rafael Nadal is back but things have changed quite a bit in his absence. He had not played in a tournament since this May after being stunned in the fourth round of the French Open. During his absence sidelined with tendonitis in both knees, rival Roger Federer took his French Open and Wimbledon titles along with the world number one ranking and started rewriting the record books. All these things seemed unlikely when Nadal was seemingly dominating Federer.

 

Nadal was able to return to the tour early this month where he was the defending champion at the Rogers Cup in Montreal. It was a welcome return where he did not expect to win but more importantly, wanted the test his recovery and look forward to the US Open. He entered the doubles draw to regain some rhythm before his singles matches, where he managed to get to the quarterfinals before losing to Juan Martin Del Potro. Eventually, Andy Murray won the tournament and displaced Nadal at world number two. In his second week back on tour Nadal was looking to re-group at the Masters in Cincinnati. He put in a good performance making it all the way to the semi-finals before falling short to Novak Djokovic 6-1, 6-4. Nadal looked a little hampered by an abdominal pull on serves, which allowed Djokovic to put a lot of pressure on his serve. This week he has had a chance to rest and prepare for the US Open starting on Aug 31st. No one should count Nadal out.

 

But so much has changed. Prior to this injury, the questions were surrounding Federer and his ability to overcome Nadal. Now the questions surround Nadal and the whether his body can sustain his physical style of play. So, here we are with two of the greatest players of their generation at the only Grand Slam tournament that Nadal has not won and the only one that Federer has not lost in since 2003. And what about Murray and Djokovic...

Comebacks are not measured just by a couple of tournaments, yet Kim Clijsters seems to be on the right track to making some waves and no one should ever count Nadal out of anything. No matter how well they do, it is a pleasure to see two highly competitive athletes back competing at the highest level.

Hope everyone enjoyed their summer!