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Kim Clijsters, making her comeback on Monday after a two-year absence, has the same dream as when she was world number one: to win Wimbledon.

The 26-year-old Belgian quit the sport in May 2007, worn down by a series of injuries and many years of travelling the world and competing at the top.

In her time away from the tour, she got married and had a daughter, Jada, in February 2008. After deciding to return seven months ago, she has been working furiously to get herself into the best possible shape.

Her immediate aim is to assess where she is with her game and thanks to wildcards will play at the Cincinnati Open before heading to Toronto and then New York for the US Open at the end of August.

Her longer-term aim is altogether more ambitious.

"It's always been Wimbledon," Clijsters said in an interview in Cincinnati.

"I've always had that feeling when I got there, like 'Oh my God, wow'. As a young girl when I played juniors there, that was one of my biggest dreams, and one that I was living, Wimbledon.

"I am very happy that I won the US Open (in 2005) because I think my personality is something that suits the US Open - I love the interaction with the crowd and the noise and the music.

"But Wimbledon is definitely one that if you can have on your CV then that's the one," added Clijsters, who turned down the offer of a wildcard for this year's edition of the grasscourt Grand Slam.

If the fitness took time to come back after pregnancy, the hunger returned immediately and Clijsters, who topped the world rankings for the first time in 2003, said she was enjoying every aspect of being back.

"You always have to push yourself," she said. "I was never happy with where I was, always wanted to do more, whether it was lifting some weights or doing a long-distance run.

"But I think I have a good group of people around me who know what you need for tennis and what you don't need for tennis, which is even more important.

"I have done a lot of things that I never really worked on when I was playing, and never even had a chance to, and I'm working with a group as motivated as I am.

"We're all learning - it's not just everything based around me, I want everyone to be involved in the situation."

Clijsters said she would not be happy to be "hanging around the 100 spot in the world" and planned to extend her "second career" for a few more years.

Had Wimbledon not come calling, though - asking her to join Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi and Tim Henman in an exhibition event to test the new sliding roof over Centre Court in May - she might never have returned.

"I've even thought about that," she said.

"I would have got some offers from some exhibitions here and there so I don't know, but obviously when you hear Wimbledon and get invited to do that, I didn't want to disrespect them, to be on that court, be out of shape.

"I wasn't in the shape that I am now, but I was working towards something. You don't want to disrespect the Wimbledon name."

Reuters