Mature Mauresmo has nothing to prove

WORLD number one Amelie Mauresmo feels she has come of age at Wimbledon this year.

The Frenchwoman secured her first Grand Slam title in Australia during January, one of three victories from the first four events of 2006, and moved back to the top of the rankings on March 20.

Despite the disappointment of a fourth-round exit to Nicole Vaidisova in Roland Garros, Mauresmo has shown a renewed determination at the All England Club this year where she is the top seed.

After breezing into the last eight, she had to dig deep to get past Anastasia Myskina, the former French Open champion, and book a place in the semi-finals — a stage she had reached in three consecutive years.

Standing in her way on Centre Court today will be former winner Maria Sharapova, the number four seed. While she may not yet be as much of a favourite for the fans at SW19 as her young Russian opponent, there is no doubt Mauresmo has the demeanour of a Wimbledon champion in waiting.

“I do feel that things are really different now, both on and off the court, so this also might be a good help for the semi-final,” said Mauresmo, who celebrated her 27th birthday yesterday.

Mauresmo — who was put out on Court Two, the so-called “graveyard of champions”, for her first-round match — maintained: “I do not think I have anything to prove to myself, first of all, or to anybody. I just want more. I want to be able to have some more great matches with great emotions, try to get some titles, and that is why I am playing.”

Sharapova, 19, secured her place in the last four by beating Elena Dementieva in a match which was interrupted by a male streaker and also once again saw criticism of the 2004 champion’s “vocal” style.

Mauresmo noted: “She seemed to be very confident out there — especially on her service game. It is going to be a tough match, but when you get to the semi-final of a Grand Slam, it has to be.”

Sharapova, meanwhile, maintains she will not let the media circus which now follows her every move — or indeed grunt — both on and off court, get to her.

“I try not to let things bother me or distract me,” the Russian teenager insisted.

With the quarter-final match-ups all going to form, Kim Clijsters, the number two seed, will take on Justine Henin-Hardenne. The Belgians are no strangers on court — with today set to be their 22nd clash — whereas Sharapova and Mauresmo have only ever faced off at the season-ending WTA Tour Championships.

The last meeting came at Eastbourne, just weeks after Henin-Hardenne had secured victory at Roland Garros en route to her French Open triumph.

“It will be the third time in a month, so I think that we know each other well enough,” said the 24-year-old Wimbledon number three seed.

Henin-Hardenne, who leads the head-to-head 11-10, insisted: “There is a lot of respect between each other — and that is very important.”

Clijsters knows she can expect another testing encounter against the 2001 Wimbledon runner-up.

“Justine has worked a lot on her strength and hits a lot more powerful than she used to,” the 23-year-old said. “I have to be aggressive, to make sure that I keep it up and do not let her try to dictate the points too much.”

Clijsters also says she has a good relationship with her Fed Cup team-mate. “We get along,” she said. “People always automatically think that because you lose a few times, beat each other, that it creates tension or something – but I have never had that.

“I like to make friends on the tour, and knowing that if I stop I can still call girls and hang out. That, to me, is more important and that is something that I prefer to take away.”