Clijsters Stung By a Bee Then Floats Like a Butterfly

Her face still flushed and her words as rapid as her forehand, Kim Clijsters insisted the result of her quarter-final was never in doubt. "I wasn't nervous after losing the first set," she said. "It wasn't like my opponent was hitting me off court."

Perhaps not. But after being stung by a bumblebee - and by Silvia Farina Elia's venomous backhand - the No2 seed looked in deep trouble before battling back to win 5-7, 6-0, 6-1. Certainly it wasn't a performance to frighten Venus Williams, who the Belgian meets in the semi-finals on Thursday.

"At 5-4 up in the first set I got this bee-sting on my stomach and I just got a bit confused," Clijsters admitted, when asked about her patchy start. "I tried not to worry about it - but I didn't know if I should call the trainer or what."

The incident certainly affected her game. For after a tight opening, in which Farina Elia had scrapped and scampered for every point, Clijsters had earned three set points and appeared to be gaining control. They were soon squandered, however, and so was the set.

Suddenly Clijsters, who had breezed through her opening four matches without dropping a set, was in a dogfight. The signs looked ominous: Farina Elia was oozing wily stealth, keeping her opponent off guard with a range of vicious slices, whipped topspins and brilliant angles. Clijsters, meanwhile, was shanking her forehands like a once-a-year parks player.

But then two things happened: Clijsters found her game, and Farina Elia lost hers completely.

The Belgian signalled her intent with a spearing forehand winner to open the second set, and followed it up by jumping all over Farina Elia's serve.

It worked like a dream: the Italian's first-serve percentage dropped from 88% in the first set to 30% in the second. A grateful Clijsters soon gobbled up Farina's 75mph second-serve tiddlers like a tennis PacMan. Within 20 minutes, Clijsters had won the second set to love. The third was almost as emphatic.

"I always believed that I couldn't win this match," admitted Farina. "I think I played my best game today in the first set. And suddenly, at the beginning of the second set, I lost my nerves a little bit and I think she raised the level again, and I couldn't handle it."

Every time Farina Elia missed a forehand she rehearsed the shot afterwards, trying to smooth out her errors. But in the end, Clijsters was simply too strong. Her confidence soaring, she finished with three aces and a Henman-like fist-pump towards a pocket of supporters.

"In the second and third sets I played really well," a beaming Clijsters said. "I started dominating and keeping her off balance and on the back foot and serving a little better too."

But the amiable Belgian knows Thursday's semi-final will be a different matter. "Against Venus I can't afford to have a bad set," she said. And while Clijsters is happy with her form, she didn't sound fully convinced she could win if Venus plays her best tennis.

"It's hard to say," she admitted after a long, long pause. "You know, once you get a break down and stuff, it's going to be very tough to break her back."