Jennifer Capriati defeat in French Open 2001 final less disappointing than losing to Justine Henin in 2003, says Kim Clijsters

Kim Clijsters recently claimed that her loss to Jennifer Capriati in the 2001 French Open final was not as disappointing as her loss to Justine Henin in the title clash of the clay-court Major in 2003.

Clijsters reached her maiden Grand Slam final at the 2001 French Open when she was only 18 years old. There, the then 12th seed faced America's Jennifer Capriati.

Speaking to Roland Garros' YouTube channel in a recent video, Clijsters recalled the encounter against Capriati in detail. The Belgian revealed that she told herself not to think about the magnitude of the match and just focus on playing well and how to beat Capriati.

"At times I really had to say myself, 'Ok don't worry. Don't think about the big stadium, all the people, the Grand Slam final, and just focus on trying to play good tennis and what you have to do to try and beat Jennifer Capriati," Kim Clijsters said.

The Belgian won the opening set 6-1 but Capriati bounced back to win the next two sets 6-4 and 12-10 to win her second Grand Slam title.

Clijsters opined that while she would have loved to win back then, it would have been "too early" for her to triumph at a Major.

"I would have loved to win it. I tried everything that I could do to win it, but it would have been too early to win a Grand Slam already then," Clijsters said.

Two years later, in 2003, the Belgian reached the French Open final for the second time in her career. She faced compatriot Justine Henin and was comprehensively beaten 6-0, 6-4.

Clijsters admitted that that match left her more disappointed than losing to Capriati in 2001, despite the fact that the 2001 one was a lot closer.

"I was a lot more disappointed after that match than after losing to Capriati, although it was 12-10 and I was a lot closer to winning," the former World No. 1 said.

"It was frustrating and then you need a few more days to get the switch in your head and go back to the practice court and to the gym and to train harder and fitter and to hopefully give yourself another opportunity to get into the semifinal or a final, and create that moment so you can try again to compete for a win," she added.

Kim Clijsters and Jennifer Capriati faced each other 6 times on tour

Kim Clijsters (front right) and Jennifer Capriati (behind) with Tamarine Tanasugarn at the 2016 WTA Finals

Kim Clijsters and Jennifer Capriati faced each another six times, with their head-to-head tied at 3-3.

The first meeting between the two came in the first round of the Advanta Championships in Philadelphia, with Capriati winning 6-3, 7-5. Subsequent wins in the 2001 French Open final and the 2002 Australian Open semifinals saw the American take a 3-0 lead in the head-to-head.

But Clijsters won the next two matches, at the 2003 Mastercard German Open and the final of that year's Bank of the West Classic in Stanford.

The last meeting between the two came in the semifinals of the 2003 WTA Tour Championships (now known as the WTA Finals). The Belgian won 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 to reach the final, where she beat Amelie Mauresmo.