Belgians to battle it out in final

JUSTINE Henin-Hardenne will face a familiar opponent in the Australian Open final.

Second seed Kim Clijsters overcame a nagging ankle injury to defeat Switzerland’s Patty Schnyder, setting up an all Belgian showdown with No.1 Henin-Hardenne for the third time in the last four Grand Slam finals.

“Kim and me are getting familiar and used to this situation,” Henin-Hardenne said.

“I can’t tell you how I’m going to feel before going on court on Saturday. But I’ll go on the court and just try to give my best one more time.”

Henin-Hardenne, the world No. 1, waxed 32nd seed Fabiola Zuluaga of Colombia, 6-2, 6-2, in the first semifinal before Clijsters defeated Schnyder, 6-2, 7-6 (7-2).

Clijsters, who rallied from a 3-5 deficit in the second set, holds a 9-6 lifetime edge against Henin-Hardenne but lost to her compatriot last year in the finals of the French Open and US Open.

“I’m not going to be the favourite because I’m No. 1,” Henin-Hardenne said. “We played unbelievable matches in our career and Kim is a great player. We’ll see what’s going to happen. It’s very hard to tell. Probably in the previous two Grand Slams (against Henin-Hardenne) I would have liked to play a little less with all the doubles and everything,” said Clijsters, who is just playing singles here, “It was too much. I was a little bit exhausted at the end. That’s something that I’ve learned..... This year I think I’ve become a little bit smarter in a way as well. You learn things every year”.

In her 6-2, 7-6 (11-9) quarter-final victory over sixth-seeded Russian Anastasia Myskina , the 20-year-old Clijsters aggravated an ankle injury early in the second set. She injured it earlier this month at the Hopman Cup but has yet to drop a set here as she seeks her first major title.

“I felt comfortable,” Clijsters said. “I knew yesterday it was going to be a little bit sore going for it. But doctors have assured me that I’m not going to get any worse by playing.”

Henin-Hardenne, a 21-year-old who was playing her fifth straight Grand Slam semi-final, improved to 19-4 lifetime at this tournament. She broke Zuluaga twice in the opening three games of the match and cruised.

“I think I played a really good match because Fabiola was playing a very good level,” Henin-Hardenne said. “I started the match very good, so it helped me. It gave me a lot of confidence.”

“The first three games, I was really nervous,” admitted Zuluaga, who was in her first career Grand Slam semi-final. “But then I was just having fun. I really enjoyed playing against Justine in that big stadium. I didn’t win, but I had fun.”

Zuluaga reached the penultimate round when fourth seed Amelie Mauresmo of France withdrew due to a back injury prior to their quarter-final match up.

“I can see that I can go further with my game,” Zuluaga said. “I can play much better tennis. Experience is a good thing to have when you’re playing matches. Sometimes you’re not playing good, but with experience you can do many things.”