TENNIS: Bush fires have been burning in Victoria for several days, depositing ash on this city and leaving a smoky haze in the air. A similar lack of clarity has permeated the women's tournament at this year's Australian Open, with the Williams sisters a spent force in the first week, Lindsay Davenport failing to make the last four, and as a consequence losing her world number one status to Kim Clijsters, and Martina Hingis returning to the fold after a three-year absence almost as if she had never been away.

All that changed yesterday when Hingis was swept out by Clijsters more easily than the 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 score suggests, leaving the Belgian to face Amelie Mauresmo in the semi-finals after the Frenchwoman overwhelmed Hingis's compatriot Patty Schnyder 6-3, 6-0.

Hingis has been watched most closely of all. She left the circuit in 2002 with 40 singles titles to her name, including five majors. The three here from 1997-99 were followed by three final defeats before her withdrawal from the circuit at the end of 2002.

Injury was the underlying cause for her departure, although it was the unremitting rise of the power game that seemingly deposited her prematurely into the history books at the age of 22.

It was an awfully young age to quit but superficially at least she appeared content to step off the treadmill and enjoy her considerable riches. She rode her horses, improved her English and dabbled in television punditry.

However, the more she watched, the more the desire for renewed competition grew. Late last year she announced she was coming back.

A semi-final in her first tournament of the year on the Gold Coast, followed by a first-round defeat against Belgium's reigning French Open champion Justine Henin-Hardenne, sent out a mixed message.

Without a doubt most of the leading players were happy to see her back and wished her well but in their own minds there was no great reason to suppose she was going to be a major threat.

And that must remain the conclusion after yesterday. By winning four matches in her grand slam comeback, with little in the way of preparation, Hingis emphasised that the women's game does not have the strength in depth that those who run the sport would have everybody believe.

But the nature of Clijsters's victory underscored the reason why the former world number one quit in the first place.

The power of the Belgian's ground strokes frequently left Hingis swiping at thin air or playing desperate retrieving squash shots, although there was no doubt that she managed to get inside Clijsters's head, particularly in the second set when the US Open champion allowed herself to become over-anxious and hurried. She simply went for too many outright winners when a little more thought would have done the trick, although this could partly be blamed on the hip injury that continues to trouble her.

She blamed a loss of energy. Whatever the reason, physical or nerves, Hingis capitalised. "I was feeling very weird and I hit the wall, I think," said Clijsters. "I felt very empty out there and all of a sudden had no power in my legs."

But in the final set Hingis's intensity faded. "I think Martina definitely hits the ball a lot harder than she used to but I don't have a crystal ball as to what will happen later this year. She's so strong tactically but obviously physically she's not the most powerful player out there."

Three years of advanced racket technology have, no doubt, aided Hingis and it may, as Clijsters said, be true that she is hitting the ball harder, but this is only relative to the others players' extra power.

More pertinently for Hingis, the women's game is in a state of flux with four different players winning the majors last year. Hingis is both refreshed and eager, which may be enough to get her back into the top 20 but possibly not to contend for majors.

Arguably the French Open may be her best chance, the one she never won in her pomp before. It was always thought her first grand slam victory would come at Roland Garros but in 1997, when still recovering from a riding accident, she lost to Croatia's Iva Majoli in the final, though she won all the other majors that year. Then in 1999 she infamously imploded against Steffi Graff on the clay.

Hingis has refused to set herself targets: "But now I want success even more and faster. I just have to work harder and see what happens in the upcoming weeks." Whether she can ultimately maintain her current enthusiasm is another matter.

"Sometimes I already miss home," she admitted, "but I'm not doing it for money. It's just because I love the game."

Guardian Service