Tennis/ US Open: It was entirely in keeping with Kim Clijsters' character that, having finally won her first grand slam title, she turned briefly towards her family and coach, her blue eyes brimming with joy, before spinning round and running to console her beaten opponent, Mary Pierce.
This was the type of considerate gesture that has made her so popular both on and off the court, and why this win is such a delight.
"Too nice to be a champion" has been a tag that the 22-year-old Belgian has borne with typical good humour for rather too long. She could have pointed, in her defence, to the 27 titles she has won on the WTA Tour, but she did not. She could have made excuses for her previous four defeats in slam finals, three of them against her fellow Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne. She did not.
Pressed on the point during the last couple of weeks, Clijsters replied with a smile: "Well, Roger Federer is a nice guy and he seems to be able to win the majors." And now she has done, defeating Pierce 6-3, 6-1 in a match of limited quality but with an ending that satisfied almost everybody.
Having beaten first Venus Williams in the quarter-finals, and then the top seed, Maria Sharapova of Russia, in the semi-finals, Clijsters had underlined her position as the pre-tournament favourite, although those of a nervous disposition gripped the sides of their seats and bit their lips as she warmed up to face Pierce. They need not have worried.
Clijsters instantly imposed her greater athleticism on the 30-year-old French woman. Pierce, having won the Australian Open in 1995 and the French Open in 2000, was looking to extend this five-year symmetry. She came nowhere close.
At the French Open this year Pierce had played much compelling tennis to reach the final, only to lose tamely 6-1, 6-1 to Henin, which prompted her to apologise tearfully to the Parisians. She could have repeated such apologies here but wisely sensed that the New York crowd might be altogether less sympathetic.
Pierce had been accused of gamesmanship after her semi-final victory over Russia's Elena Dementieva when, having lost the first set, she took two medical time-outs lasting 12 minutes which totally disrupted Dementieva's rhythm.
So when Pierce, her right thigh heavily taped, called for the trainer again during the first set against Clijsters, it immediately prompted some mild booing. Clijsters had just suffered a mini-crisis, winning only two points out of 10, with Pierce cutting her lead from 4-1 to 4-3, but she instantly steadied herself to take the opening set in 37 minutes.
Then, and only then, Pierce had some extra taping placed around her thigh and also slipped away for a bathroom break. But she was careful to get back before the crowd grew restless or, worse still, ugly.
By the end of the second set they were cheering her, although not because they had suddenly taken her to their hearts. New Yorkers being New Yorkers they wanted value for money, and for Pierce to extend the final into a third set. This was never likely. Flexibility, strength and quickness are the essence of the Belgian's game and, faced with these, Pierce crumpled into a sorry heap.
* Guardian Service
