TENNIS: Not a Williams sister in sight and the third all-Belgian grand slam final out of the last four.
"It's just something crazy for a little country," said Justin Henin-Hardenne, who last year defeated her compatriot Kim Clijsters in both the French and US Open finals.
Clijsters has since become engaged to Lleyton Hewitt and, with none of their own players left in the singles since the fourth round, the Australians have turned to "our Kimmy" for a little solace.
"She's Belgian," came a cry inside the Rod Laver Arena yesterday as sections of the Melbourne crowd embraced Clijsters as one of their own, and cheered her on to a 6-2, 7-6 semi-final victory over Switzerland's Patty Schnyder.
This has not been a great women's tournament, with Serena Williams, the reigning champion, and Jennifer Capriati absent, Venus Williams beaten in the third round and Amelie Mauresmo dropping out injured.
However, their cause has hardly been helped by the organisers' refusal to play any women's matches in the showcase evening sessions since the middle of the first week.
Men's doubles has been preferred, which is an insult to the women and tennis.
It is to be hoped that tomorrow's final will be a cracker, although neither the all-Williams finals nor the all-Belgian finals have ever really caught alight.
The last women's grand slam final of true drama was here two years ago when Capriati defeated Martina Hingis; since then the Williams-Belgian hegemony has been unbroken.
Henin has not found it easy entering a major as favourite and world number one for the first time. "I had the feeling I had to prove I was the best player in the world, which was stupid," she said.
Clijsters rose to the top last year without having won a grand slam title, though with an exceptional winning record on the Tour, including nine titles. Should she beat Henin tomorrow, she will return to number one, although a first major triumph is what she most wants.
Henin, who beat Colombia's Fabiola Zuluaga 6-2, 6-2 yesterday, has been a little short of her best, though she rose to the challenge in the quarter-final against Lindsay Davenport, turning round a 4-0 first-set deficit. She remains the favourite, though many inside and outside Australia would love Clijsters to win.
