Seeing two Belgians in the last four of a grand slam was a common occurrence in the early part of this decade. Few could have envisaged, however, the sight of two players from that country contemplating a confrontation in tomorrow's final of the US Open. Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters brought the best out of each other in their prolonged battle for international dominance and, shortly before their respective retirements, held the top two places on the WTA rankings ladder.
Clijsters' premature retirement in 2007 followed by that of Henin a year later left a massive void in the women's game. The recent return of Clijsters has provided the tour with a welcome boost and brought about suggestions of Henin following her on to the comeback trail. But it is a relatively unknown young Belgian who is stealing the limelight in New York. The unheralded teenager Yanina Wickmayer, who had never previously advanced beyond the second round of a grand slam, capitalised on the upheaval in the top half of the women's draw to claim an unlikely semi-final place through a 7-5, 6-4 victory over another unseeded success story, Kateryna Bondarenko, of Ukraine.
Ranked 50th in the world, Wickmayer is now talking up her chances of taking on her idol Clijsters in a title-deciding battle at Flushing Meadows. And she has every reason to be confident with Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki, who ended the fairy-tale run of young home hope Melanie Oudin, blocking her path to a final against either Clijsters or defending champion Serena Williams. If Clijsters has surpassed expectations by gliding past five opponents, including Venus Williams, to reach the semi-finals of her comeback slam, Wickmayer's achievement has been extraordinary.
"I have worked really hard for this," said an elated Wickmayer, who has been Florida-based since the death of her mother through cancer. "I have been staying very calm and I go into every match believing I can win. Let's hope that Kim and I can meet each other in the final." Firstly, however, the two Belgians have to overcome formidable opponents. Clijsters faces the tougher task in world No 2 Serena but Wozniacki is in no mood to waste her good work at Flushing Meadows, culminating in her emphatic dismissal of Oudin, the new darling of the galleries.
The 17-year-old American Oudin had followed up her eye-catching victory over Jelena Jankovic at Wimbledon in June by disposing of three Russian seeds here to reach her first grand slam quarter-final. Victories over Elena Dementieva, Maria Sharapova and Nadia Petrova indicated that she could also get past the ninth-seeded Wozniacki, 19, but that optimism proved to be severely misplaced as the stylish Dane eased to a 6-2, 6-2 passage.
Wozniacki, the first Dane of either sex to reach a grand slam semi-final, praised her diminutive opponent whose scampering style has brought her the label of "Little Road Runner". "She's had a great run and beaten some top players to get this far," said Wozniacki. A disappointed but humble Oudin said: "These past two weeks have been really different for me. I've gone from being just a normal tennis player to almost everyone in the United States knowing who I am now. I don't think of myself as a celebrity at all, just because it's me. I just love to play tennis. That's it."
But for an American nation, crying out for somebody to pick up the female baton from the Williams sisters, Oudin is a star in their eyes and one who looks destined for an outstanding career.