(VIDEO) Clijsters recalls Roland Garros memories: "That's when the international tennis world knew who I was"

Kim Clijsters had a fabulous tennis career but Roland Garros always had a special place for her and she talked about that in a feature for the Youtube channel of the event.

Kim Clijsters never won Roland Garros despite playing in two finals and it remains one of the things she wishes she could change about her career. Speaking about clay tennis, Clijsters said that she was basically raised on the surface from a very young age:

"I was raised on clay. My first ever tennis lesson was on clay and Roland Garros was my first connection with tennis."

Her first run to the final came in 2001 when she was 18 and speaking about that, Clijsters said:

"I turned 18 during that Roland-Garros so for me I was still a teenager. Everything was new and I remember just being winning and thinking like oh my God I'm in a grand slam semi-final."

She played against compatriot Justine Henin at that event remembering how they grew up on Tour together. Clijsters ended up winning and getting to the final. Speaking of the final, Clijsters said:

"I just turned 19 the day before the final. It was a really really special moment. Everything was quite, the locker room was empty and then you realize we are the last two. I was so nervous walking up the stairs."

It was a match where Clijsters won the opening set but Capriati came back to win the second. Despite holding a lead in the final one, Clijsters ended up losing the match:

"I would have loved to have won it. I tried everything that I could to win it but it would have been too early to win a grand slam."

Check out the rest of the interview below.