'Today's win feels to me like she won a Grand Slam'

'Today was a big achievement'

'I travelled a lot in these 12 years'

'I don't need to worry about 2nd round result'

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It took about two years for Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin to come out of retirement. Kimiko Date Krumm waited 12 years before letting the fire inside her burn again and Dinara Safina felt the full heat in Paris.

The 39-year-old Japanese became the second oldest woman to reach the second round of the French Open after a 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 win over former World No 1 Safina.

Although she ached and limped on Court Suzanne Lenglen as she struggled with a calf injury, a big smile eventually wiped off her mask of pain.

Date Krumm, who ran the London Marathon during her retirement from tennis, is now enjoying life on the tour as the world number 72 after some tough times when she was younger.

"In my first career, I would hate it. I always would go back to Japan, even for a few days only," she said. "Now, I can stay for a month in Europe. I'm older, wiser."

Image: Kimiko Date Krumm
Photographs: Reuters

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Date Krumm, who reached No. 4 in the world in 1995, called it a day in 1996 but she was soon to meet someone who would drive her back to tennis.

"Lindsay Davenport told me 'you're crazy!'," said Date Krumm, wearing a V-neck yellow t-shirt, her calf still strapped a couple hours after her match.

In 1998, while she was in Paris working for a Japanese TV, she was invited to the Le Mans 24 Hours race.

She accepted the invitation and met Michael Krumm, a German Nissan driver who was competing in the endurance event.

Krumm, now a GT1 world championship driver, told Reuters: "I felt she still had so much power and talent. There was a fire in her. "It looks like I was right. Today's win feels to me like she won a Grand Slam."

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Born and bred in the Japanese tradition, Date Krumm is not exactly the quitter type.

"She hates to retire. Today she played with her head," he said. "I was almost hoping she would retire (from the match) because I did not want her to aggravate the injury."

But she hung on as Safina lost her composure and eventually pulled off the upset, 15 years after reaching the last four at Roland Garros on the very same court where she beat Iva Majoli in the quarter-finals before losing to Arantxa Sanchez.

"Today was a big achievement, I actually enjoy it more than my earlier successes," said Date Krumm, adding her new career has been keeping her away from her husband most of the year.

"This year, we may have seen each other a week," she explained. "Last week, he was racing in the Czech Republic and then he drove there to see me. But tomorrow he is heading back to Germany."