Bye Michael, hello Kim

The year's most glorious comeback is not on a Formula One track but on the tennis court.

So the comeback of the year is not going to be. Michael Schumacher, who has the best record of all in Formula One racing, has abandoned plans to replace injured Ferrari driver Felipe Massa at the European Grand Prix in Valencia on August 23 due to the consequences of a neck injury sustained in February. He says he is too downbeat to contemplate a return later this year or next.

That douses the hopes of F1, which, reeling under political rows, freak accidents, BMW’s exit, and the threat of a breakaway series, was hoping for a revival in interest due to Schumacher’s return. Equally distraught will be those salivating at the prospect of a great story.

The second lot can take heart. Kim Clijsters, who would have spent more time breastfeeding than on a tennis court in the two years since she quit the game, has just beaten world number six — and a reigning grand slam champion — Svetlana Kuznetsova at the Cincinnati Open. Her victims in the previous two rounds were world number 13 and former Wimbledon runner-up Marion Bartoli, and world number 20 Patty Schnyder. On Friday (that’s when this column was written because the people who make this page wanted to give full expression to their patriotism on Saturday), Clijsters was to take on world number one Dinara Safina. And the odds are pretty even although Clijsters, 26 years old and mother of one, is playing her first tournament since April 2007 and does not even have a world ranking. Safina herself said the Belgian was playing as well as she had been before quitting.

What’s more, she has come back rejuvenated. When she left, she was worn down by a series of injuries and many years of competing at the top level and travelling the world. The woman making the comeback is one who has worked out her priorities in life. Equally important, she has worked frantically not only to get herself in shape but also to actually improve her fitness since deciding seven months ago that she would come back. The former world number one says she is enjoying the game now, which at times is more important for an athlete than talent or technique.

Clijsters won her only grand slam title at the US Open in 2005. After retirement and motherhood, she is talking about winning Wimbledon, the dream she had before the two things changed the course of her life. It’s always been that, she says, before retirement and after.

So tough luck, Schumacher, but the comeback of the year is rolling on.