Clijsters and Hewitt share a tender moment in happier times

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Kim Clijsters' romance with Australian Lleyton Hewitt is over and they will not be getting married in February as planned, the Belgian has said.

"Kim Clijsters and Lleyton Hewitt have jointly decided to put an end to their relationship for private reasons," Clijsters said on her official website.

The pair got engaged in December 2003, and last month Clijsters said she was planning a fairy-tale wedding in a Belgian chateau.

The world number 10 said she and Hewitt, 23, did not wish to elaborate on the reason for their split.

"Both of us distance ourselves from the malicious gossip which inevitably surfaces in this kind of situation," she added.

Clijsters, 21, has been plagued with injuries over the past year, and is out for the rest of the season after suffering a wrist injury at this month's Belgian Open.

World number three Hewitt withdrew from this week's Madrid Masters before the start of the tournament.

Hewitt first invited Clijsters out in late 2000 to a party for fellow Australian Pat Rafter and they got engaged after a romantic boat trip around Sydney Harbour.

"It is sad because Australian tennis fans have come to love Kim and I think we will continue to, just as we do with Lleyton," said ex-Davis Cup player John Alexander.

"I have never seen two people more in love and being so generous to each other. Let's just hope it is a hiccup and they get over it but if not, we wish them well," Alexander, now a TV commentator, added.

A marriage between the pair would have followed in the footsteps of former world No.1's Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi, who married in 2001 and have two children.