Belgium win Fed cup

Victorious Belgian team captain Ivo van Aken expects Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin to keep on getting better in years to come as they attempt to repeat their stunning Fed Cup success.

Clijsters, 18, and Henin, 19, played superbly at the eight-nation finals in Madrid, winning all four of their singles games.

Henin, the world number seven, ensured nerves would not be a problem when Belgium played their first Fed Cup final on Sunday as she strolled to a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Russia's Nadia Petrova in the opening singles.

Clijsters, ranked two places higher than her compatriot, built on that success to beat Elena Dementieva 6-0, 6-4 and ensure victory even though Russia went on to win the doubles against Els Callens and Laurence Courtois.

The victory over Dementieva saw Clijsters complete the week without dropping so much as a set and left her captain suitably impressed.

"Every week she just plays a bit better," said van Aken.

"When you're so young and have so much talent, like Kim and Justine, that's normal.

CHAMPAGNE CELEBRATION

"We know that both players are young and talented and if they keep playing for the team there's no reason why we can't win this competition more than once."

The players themselves clearly enjoyed their first experience of a Fed Cup final, indulging in a champagne celebration on centre court in front of a 3,000-strong crowd that included several hundred Belgians.

"A lot of Belgians were behind us out there, which was nice," said Henin.

"It was a great experience and I think it will be a great help for next year.

"Okay, the Americans weren't here and we were the favourites. Fine, but we had to go out and do our job on court and we did it."

The American defending champions stayed at home because of security concerns after the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.

SUCCESSFUL YEAR

Sunday's victory capped superb seasons for both Clijsters and Henin.

Clijsters won in Stanford, Leipzig and Luxembourg and came desperately close to beating Jennifer Capriati in the final at Roland Garros.

Henin started the year with victory at the Australian hardcourt championship, won again in Canberra and Den Bosch and also reached the final of a Grand Slam, losing to Venus Williams in three sets at Wimbledon.

Both are clearly confident of claiming further honours in the future, although wisely they are keeping their predictions to themselves.

"I'm just thinking about my holidays now," said Clijsters when asked about her goals for next season. "I won't do anything different. I'm just going to work hard."

Henin added: "I do have goals in my head for next season but I don't want to say them out loud.

"I don't want to put more pressure on myself."