With a last wave and thumbs-up to a crowd that could not quite lift her into a farewell Australian Open final, Kim Clijsters disappeared one final time from Rod Laver Arena yesterday afternoon.
The 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 semi-final loss to Victoria Azarenka was a disappointing end to a difficult summer for the four-time Grand Slam winner who plans to re-retire later this year.
First, in her Brisbane comeback from the abdominal issue suffered in August, came the thigh spasms that curtailed her semi-final against Daniela Hantuchova.
Then, in the Open's fourth round, an ankle was sprained before four match points were saved against Li Na.
The fact that the defending champion was not 100 per cent yesterday, was not offered as an excuse, although Clijsters confirmed her pride in her ability to ''fight through tough matches'', including the finals rematch against Li and the quarter-final effort that dethroned Caroline Wozniacki as No1.
''I felt like I have given it my all these last two weeks, and it's unfortunate,'' Clijsters said. ''The match was very close. There were a few deciding moments where I think I maybe had a little bit of an advantage - in the third set, especially, that first game where I had break point.
''But she definitely played really well. She was playing very aggressive tennis, moving really well. So she deserved to win at the end.''
The crowd did not want to be believe it, of course, but ''Aussie Kim'' drew some small consolation from the fact she could ''have been home already two days ago''.
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