Excerpt from interview with Sabine Appelmans on January 17, 2000.

Q: Kim Clijsters just won her second tourney. Are you still surprised by her?

A: Eh, not really. It's very nice of course, winning the first tourney of the year, with some good victories as well, against Dragomir and also in the final against Rubin. The talent is definitely there, and the will to win. It's all there to become a very good player. So I wasn't really surprised.

Q: Will she become top 10, maybe this year ?

A: Maybe not this year because she is limited in the amount of tournaments she can play because of her age. Because she's so young she isn't allowed to play a full schedule. But maybe that's better for her so she can grow slowly in the circuit. She's not too well known yet so she doesn't get all the media coverage yet with which young stars can have difficulties sometimes. This year might be a bit early but top ten is certainly possible for her. When I train with her i see few differences with other top 10 players with whom i also train from time to time. She just misses a bit of experience to be ranked so high but she's going to get there for sure.

Q: And she has a good attitude too, both feet firmly on the ground ?

A: Yes, she just stays the same person, enthusiastic, spontaneous. And also the fact that at her tennis courses (in Wilrijk, VTV-school, ed.) she has friends who just take her as she is, that means a lot to her. She doesn't feel isolated, she has friends and still goes to school and that can only be in her advantage.