David Leggat: Clijsters' return adds vital spice

This column is rather dependent on the New York weather.

At some time while you were sleeping a few hours ago, Kim Clijsters will have either progressed to the US Open final, or been bumped out by Serena Williams in their semifinal.

Or, if it's been wet and delayed, as predicted, park yourself in a seat today and cheer long and loud for the immensely popular Belgian. Nothing against the formidable Williams, but Clijsters, win or lose today, has been one of the stories of the Open.

She took a few years out to have her first baby, then decided she rather fancied going around the circuit again.

One look at the quality of the women's game right now would have made it an easy decision. Much of it is rubbish.

Clijsters is too polite to say so, but it says plenty that, on the strength of a couple of lead-in tournaments in Cincinnati and Toronto, she was able to travel past five opponents - only world No 3 Venus Williams giving her any real gyp along the way, in the round of 16 - to the brink of a fifth Grand Slam final.

Former world No 1 Clijsters, still only 26, doesn't even have a ranking. Players need to have completed three tournaments for that.

Take out the Williams sisters, who tend to pick and choose these days, and there's little flair and vibrancy in the game, a distinct lack of colour and spark, and certainly not enough to make you want to sit still for an hour or two.

No 1 Dinara Safina has copped plenty of flak as an example of the malaise, but to be fair she reached two Grand Slam finals and one semifinal this year, plus won three tournaments, which is not a bad return.

Americans whooped and hollered over unknown Melanie Oodin as she patted back enough balls to reach the quarter-finals without seeming to know how to hit a winner. In truth she beat a succession of lame-brain Russians who kept making mistakes.

The women's winner in New York will receive US$1.6 million ($2.3 million), the same amount Roger Federer - put your shirt on that - will pocket when he lifts the men's trophy.

There is a view that if women want the same pay they should work the same hours and in tennis that means best-of-five sets on the big occasions.

Sorry, but the idea of sitting through an extra couple of sets in most of the women's matches served up in New York over the past fortnight is enough to lift you out of your seat - to take a stroll.

There are rumours Clijsters' fellow retired Belgian Justine Henin is contemplating a return to competitive tennis next year. Good.

She was a tough, unsmiling little scrapper with a belting backhand. She was also world No 1 and a top class player. The women's game needs her, and Clijsters, to break the monotony of the ordinary coterie at the top (Williams x 2 excepted).

It's different among the men, where Federer seems to have gathered a second wind. It was only seven months ago that the Swiss great was being talked of in past tense terms.

His Grand Slam title-gathering days seemed to be dying out as Rafael Nadal won the Australian Open with Federer, perhaps sensing his time was running out, ending the day in tears.

But with French and Wimbledon crowns pushing him past Pete Sampras' 14 singles titles, and Nadal just back after injury, Federer seems freed of the burden of pursuing Sampras.

There is a joyous quality to his tennis. His shot-making remains of jaw-dropping quality. He'll take some stopping.