Tennis: Pierce Smiles All the Way to Final

It still takes some believing: Mary Pierce is in tomorrow's singles final of the French Open. Her opponent is no surprise. The Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne was undefeated on clay this year prior to the start of Roland Garros and won here two years ago. Both had easy rides against Russian opponents yesterday. But, at 30, Pierce's best years seemed behind her.

She has always been able to clump the ball and the fact that she has been in four previous grand slam finals, winning the Australian Open in 1995 and here five years ago, testifies to her ability. But since she beat Spain's Conchita Martinez in the 2000 final she has drifted down the bill, her name written in print that has become smaller and smaller.

Now Pierce of France is back in capitals, a blast from the past and as infuriating or fascinating as ever. Yesterday it took her two minutes under an hour to defeat Elena Likhovtseva 6-1, 6-1 in a semi-final largely devoid of merit, so horribly poor was the play of the 29-year-old Russian in her first major semi-final.

"I fell apart," admitted Likhovtseva. And the more she struggled to raise her game, the more irritated she became with the time Pierce took between points. It was nothing new. She swept the lines with her foot, she tapped the clay off her shoes, she adjusted her hair, she blew on her hand, she wiped perspiration from her brow. The mannerisms are infinite and now she has taken to smiling at both her adversities and triumphs.

But this is Mary and, if Likhovtseva let it get under her skin, it was only because she was playing so appallingly, lacking any semblance of guile, grace or fight. It seems unlikely that Henin, who defeated Nadia Petrova 6-2, 6-3, will find herself similarly rattled by the princess of pose.

This was Henin's 23rd successive clay-court win this year, a day after her 23rd birthday. And, if she repeats her 2003 title victory here, it will be her 23rd tournament win. The symmetry already appears etched in stone.

It is all so different from last year when she slunk away from Roland Garros during the first week, the victim of a pernicious virus that had drained her of energy and confidence. She missed Wimbledon, won the gold medal at the Athens Games and then had a recurrence of the illness later in the year, forcing her to stop playing after the US Open.

A knee injury just before this year's Australian Open further hindered her comeback and she is still having to take extreme care because of the virus and a back problem that is affecting her serve. If Pierce gets in the zone, she could do considerable damage to that Henin serve but otherwise the little Belgian would appear to have much too much versatility, provided her game is not stifled by nerves.

"Justine takes the first opportunity to open up and put you in trouble," said Petrova, who lost in the semi-finals here against another Belgian, Kim Clijsters, two years ago. "I really don't see Mary winning."

Victory for Henin would give her a fourth grand slam title - Wimbledon eludes her - placing her level with Venus Williams and three behind the younger Williams Serena. She holds a 3-0 career advantage over Pierce who will be the oldest grand slam finalist at Roland Garros since Martina Navratilova in 1987.

"Anything can happen and I can have a bad day. I will have to be patient because Mary will be wanting to hit quick winners and I will need to extend the rallies," said Henin. "But I know the other players don't like playing me on clay."

Andrew Murray, the top seed, reached the semi-finals of the junior boys' tournament with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina and today he meets Marin Cilic of Croatia. "I think if I play like I did today I should win pretty comfortably," he said.

Murray, the US Open junior champion last year, struggled at the beginning of the week with a stomach upset but his play reflected his seeding yesterday. He currently has a world ranking of No359 and is revelling in the experience he is getting at Roland Garros. "My favourite surface is clay but my best results have always come on hard courts."

Yesterday he received a wild card for the Stella Artois Championships next week and today, after his semi-final, he will watch Roger Federer play Rafael Nadal in their semi-final. "Federer in four" is Murray's prediction.

Women's final

Tomorrow

J Henin-Hardenne (Bel,10) v M Pierce (Fr, 21)