LOS ANGELES, Nov 7: Kim Clijsters’s pursuit of the year-end number one ranking received a boost on Sunday when third ranked Maria Sharapova was placed in Lindsay Davenport’s round robin group for the WTA Tour Championships.
The second ranked Belgian lies just 155 points behind Davenport in the world rankings, but does not have any points to defend at the event starting on Tuesday, after sitting out the championships last year with a wrist injury.
American Davenport is defending 214 points, while last year’s winner Sharapova is protecting 684 points.
Davenport and Sharapova’s Green Group in the eight-woman round robin event is completed by Switzerland’s Patty Schnyder and Russia’s Nadia Petrova.
Clijsters’s Black Group also contains Frenchwomen Amelie Mauresmo — who won the title in Philadelphia on Sunday – and Mary Pierce as well as Russian Elena Dementieva.
The event opens on Tuesday when Clijsters faces Pierce, who she thrashed 6-3 6-1 in the US Open final two months ago for her first major victory.
“Kim has been incredible on hard courts this year,” Pierce said of the Belgian, who has won a WTA-Tour high nine events this season.
Sharapova will then take on Schnyder before Davenport faces Petrova.
On Wednesday, Pierce takes on Dementieva, Davenport plays Schnyder and Mauresmo will meet Clijsters.
The two top players in each group will advance to Saturday’s semifinals.
The 18-year-old Sharapova became the youngest winner of the tournament last year, but is currently nursing a right pectoral injury which forced her to pull out of Philadelphia last week.
She is receiving treatment twice a day in a desperate bid to regain fitness.
Clijsters is the only 2005 Grand Slam winner in the draw.
Australian Open champion Serena Williams is out with a knee injury, as is her sister, Wimbledon winner, Venus.
French Open champion Justine Henin-Hardenne pulled out with a hamstring injury.
Venus Williams would have been the tournament’s first alternate, but decided not to risk further injury.
France’s Nathalie Dechy has taken her place.
Meanwhile, Pierce, runner-up in two of the year’s Grand Slams, still believes she can reach world number one.
The 30-year-old has enjoyed a remarkable resurgence with runs to the finals of both the French and US Opens as well as titles in San Diego and Moscow.
She is already setting lofty targets for next year, with a Wimbledon crown high on her wish list.
“It is a legitimate goal,” Pierce said. “Is it realistic that I’m ranked number five now?
“I would love to get to number one and win another Grand Slam title like Wimbledon or the US Open.
“But at least at I’ve been to the final of the US Open, which I haven’t done at Wimbledon. On grass, I’m playing better and better.
“If I could win Wimbledon and get to number one, then I could retire and say I’ve achieved everything I wanted to.”
Should she win the WTA Championships, Pierce would go a long way to achieving her ranking goal.
If she grabs the title, she could reach the number three ranking behind Davenport and Clijsters, equalling her career high ranking achieved nearly 10 years ago after she won the Australian Open.
Pierce, who also won the French Open in 2000, begins her challenge against Clijsters on Tuesday in a re-match of the US Open final that the Belgian won easily.
Pierce’s return to the top of the sport has been aided by a clean bill of health after the injuries that burdened her after her 2000 title at Roland Garros.
“I’m really proud of my year,” added Pierce, who became the first player of 30 or older to reach a Grand Slam final since Martina Navratilova in 1994. She is 31 in January.
“Part of me is surprised — it’s been unbelievable. I believed I could do it again, I wanted to do it, but you never know.”
“One of my goals was to play the Championships again before I retired and to actually have qualified and been a force, that’s a positive statement,” added Pierce, who last qualified for the Championships in 1999.
It has been 18 years since Navratilova reigned as the world number one in her thirties, the last player to do so.
Current number one Davenport is 29.
“It would be funny (to reach number one),” said Pierce. “But why not? Experience helps and if you are dedicated and disciplined you never know what can happen.
“I believe in giving your best at every moment and seeing where it takes you.”—Reuters