Kim Clijsters (Belgium)

The gritty baseliner has been in brilliant form all year and is desperate to make her grand slam breakthrough. Mentally tough and with solid groundstrokes to match, her game is perhaps better suited to clay.

Age: 23 Lives: Bree, Belgium Plays: Right-handed, double-handed backhand Grand slam titles: 2000 Australian Open; 2005 US Open Seeded: 2
At Wimbledon:
Year  2005  2004  2003   2002   Performance  4R  ---  SF  2R

The gritty baseliner has been in brilliant form all year and is desperate to make her grand slam breakthrough. Mentally tough and with solid groundstrokes to match, her game is perhaps better suited to clay as she proved by reaching the Roland Garros final. A last eight showing in 2001 proved she can adapt well on the slick surface.

Sealed her place at the top of the women's game in 2001 when she became the first Belgian to reach a grand slam final at Roland Garros, where she narrowly lost the marathon match 12-10 in the third set to Jennifer Capriati.

A sore shoulder led to an early downfall in the French capital 12 months ago but she has been in impressive form in 2003. Three tournament victories have helped the gritty baseliner to break the Williams sisters' stranglehold at the top of the WTA rankings.

Clijsters's never-say-die attitude should hold her in good stead as she attempts to capture her first singles grand slam title.