Kim Clijsters hopes the third time is the charm.
Seeking her first Grand Slam title, Clijsters would also regain the top spot with a victory.
PHOTO: AP
Andre Agassi's 26-match winning streak at the Australian Open ended Friday in a semifinal upset loss to Marat Safin 7-6 (6), 7-6 (6), 5-7, 1-6, 6-3.
PHOTO: AP
It was a heartbreaking defeat for the fourth-seeded Agassi, who fought back from losing the first two sets to even the match, and then falter.
Seeking his ninth Grand Slam title, Agassi won the last three times that he played at Melbourne Park, missing only in 2002 while recuperating from wrist surgery.
Safin, a former No. 1 and US Open winner whose ranking slipped to 86th with wrist problems last year, proved again that he still has the talent to win big matches.
The unseeded Russian knocked off top-ranked Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals and had 33 aces against Agassi, one of the game's best returners. Just as important, he largely kept his famed temper in check despite the pressure on packed center court.
Safin next meets the winner of Friday's semifinal between second-seeded Roger Federer and Juan Carlos Ferrero that also is a showdown for the top ranking.
Taking the court just 25 hours after a quarterfinal match in which she re-injured her sprained left ankle, second-seeded Clijsters chased down drop shots and ran sideline to sideline to beat No. 22 Patty Schnyder 6-2, 7-6 (2).
"I knew it was going to be a little sore," said Clijsters, who underwent a fitness test before the match and had the ankle smeared with anti-inflammatory cream and tightly taped. "But doctors have reassured me that I'm not going to make it any worse by playing."
Henin-Hardenne advanced by beating 32nd-seeded Fabiola Zuluaga, the beneficiary of Amelie Mauresmo's withdrawal before their quarterfinal match with an injury.
Clijsters hurt her ankle at the Hopman Cup and was sidelined for before the Australian Open. She aggravated the injury in a quarterfinal victory over sixth-seeded Anastasia Myskina on Wednesday.
Clijsters achieved her sixth consecutive straight-sets victory, as did Henin-Hardenne, which has helped keep the stress on her ankle to a minimum.
"I'm feeling good," she said. "Whatever the time you can rest, the better, particularly with my foot. I'm just really looking forward to go out there. I wish it was tomorrow in a way."
Both Belgians reached the semi-finals at all four majors last season. Neither has made the Australian Open final before.
Clijsters said she hoped to make it "third time lucky" against Henin-Hardenne, her friend since junior seasons.
She said she won't be psyched out by losses in their last two big matches, blaming them in part on playing doubles at the French and US Opens. She has stuck to just singles this time.
"In those matches, I knew where the problem was laying and I knew that it wasn't psychological," Clijsters said. "I was a little bit exhausted at end of those two Slams. This year, I think I've become a little bit smarter."
Both semifinals were played under a closed roof at Rod Laver Arena as light rain fell sporadically throughout the day.
Henin-Hardenne made 25 unforced errors, including 15 in the second set against Zuluaga, the first Colombian woman to reach a grand Slam semifinal.
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