Belgian stars can explode Big Bang theory

As famous Belgians go, Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin are the most impressive double act since Jean-Claude Van Damme's biceps. When they both rose into the world's top 10 last year, it marked the first time that their country had two representatives in the list. Clijsters reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon and the US Open and made the final at Roland Garros.

Henin reached the Wimbledon final last year and the Roland Garros semis. She has reached two finals this year, in Berlin and Rome, both against Serena Williams, and won the former. The pair now stand at No 5 and No 6 in the world, and yesterday, true to form, they both progressed to the second round of the women's singles.

Clijsters won in straight sets, 6-2, 7-6 against the American, Samantha Reeves, ranked 72 places below her. After a season disrupted by an arm injury, her SW19 opener was unlikely to be a breeze. "This year has been very tough for me because I've had the injury," she said. "It definitely wasn't my best tennis, but it was good enough to go through. I think that's important now, that I raise my level the longer I'm in the tournament."

Given that Clijsters only turned 19 a fortnight ago, her maturity is impressive. Her on-court success, and her off-court activities ­ not least her long-standing romance with Australia's Lleyton Hewitt ­ have led to pressures that few women in the game can handle.

She said yesterday that having a famous father (the former Belgium international footballer, Leo) had helped. He has always advised her to forget what others expect of her and enjoy herself. "I don't play tennis to be on TV all the time and to be in magazines," she said. "I play tennis because I enjoy it."

Henin plays tennis because she loves the elegance of a well-crafted win. Such elegance made Steffi Graf her heroine, and such elegance, on her good days, has made her one of the very few players who can counter the sheer power of the Williams sisters and Jennifer Capriati with guile. Her one-handed backhand, a pinpoint waspish flick when in key, is the single most delicious stroke in the game. It was far from its finest yesterday, but Henin still overcame Brie Rippner of the United States, ranked No 239 in the world, 6-2, 6-7, 6-1.

The first and last sets were formalities, forged from early breaks built on intelligent placing of shots. But the middle set, which Rippner took on a tie-break, was a trickier affair.

"I was going well until 4-3 in the second set," she said. "But I had problems finishing off the match. Maybe it's because I haven't played for two weeks and I'm a little bit nervous to finish off matches. I have to control that."

For the moment, the pair stay on course in the top half of the draw, neither due to meet players ranked above them until a possible quarter-final meeting for Clijsters with Venus Williams and a possible showdown for Henin with Monica Seles at the same stage. Seles, the world No 4, had the easiest first-round win of the tournament so far yesterday, beating Eva Bes of Spain 6-0, 6-0 in 37 minutes.

With the "big three" (the Williams sisters and Capriati) safely through in the past two days, and now the "little three" of the top six through yesterday, the emphasis for the latter will be to improve at each stage. Because just as science has its Big Bang Theory (sired in 1927 by the famous Belgian, Father Georges Lemaitre), so tennis has its Big Bang Theory, sired by Richard Williams and augmented by Mr and Mrs Capriati. A famous Belgian victory here will be a timely answer to that.