Enough of the Williams, Jennifer Capriati and Lindsay Davenport. The Belgians are causing quite a stir. Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters have been having quite a time picking their way into the second week.

Not only have they revived interest in the sport in their own country but sparked of a furious debate in Britain as to why abject failure on the tennis court has been their diet since Virgina Wade won way back when the late Dan Maskell was still good for three sets.

Former professional player John Lloyd rightly wondered yesterday how on earth an approximate £300 million since 1977 has not managed to produce a single player who has even threatened to win Wimbledon. He further claimed the local players are given too much on a plate yet the standard of tennis is depressingly poor.

"If this was a hungry nation in terms of tennis, I would agree with the wild-card system. But our players already get too much given to them on a plate by a rich LTA (Lawn Tennis Association)," said Lloyd.

Quite right he is. Looking down the list of the last 16 players or even the last 32 and there is no sign of a British player's (or Irish anywhere in the junior or senior draw) name. There are five Americans, four of whom are dominant and now the little European threat from Belgium.

In her last match against Angeles Montolio, Clijsters - seeded seven - showed how much her back-court game had adapted and, while it did take her 12 games to take the first set with the second aided by a thigh injury to her opponent, she has emerged as an effective challenger.

Henin, wispy and with an ability to cover the court as well as anyone in the main draw has been picked out by John McEnroe as a dark horse. She has quietly slipped through each round without drawing much attention despite the fact that she was the French Open semi-finalist beaten by Clijsters. But coming back from 4-1 down against Kristie Boogert showed that the 19-year-old has mettle as well as one of the great one-handed backhands at the tournament.

Her subsequent straight-sets win over the experienced Lisa Raymond, a rare grass-court specialist, proved Henin is a force to be reckoned with. "I think I have been improving steadily since the beginning of the tournament and I'm approaching my best tennis."

Given that the top half of the draw, where she is placed, is open due to the first-round departure of Martina Hingis, a semi-final place against Capriati or Serena Williams is a real possibility.

Lina Krasnoroutskya, Conchita Martinez, Anke Huber and Henin are all in the running, Henin facing 18th-seed Huber in the next round.

Clijsters has it tougher. Her initial task against American Meghann Shaughnessy, if successful, would bring her into contact with the low key but impressive Davenport or the bustling Jelena Dokic.

Dokic illustrated a little inexperience after her win against Barbara Schett. Taking the opportunity to slate the tournament organisers, who failed to send a car to pick her up, her promotions company Octagon and the Daily Mirror for running a story labelling her father a beast, Dokic must hope her ill-concealed anger can be turned to her own advantage.

"It was really nasty about my dad," she said. "It's about as bad as it can get and that's not really funny anymore. Saying that about my dad trying to psyche Barbara out from the side of the court was really crazy. My dad doesn't deserve that."

It's a tough series of matches for both Dokic and Clijsters with success probably bringing them up against reigning champion Venus Williams, who hugs the bottom rung of the ladder. Her father believes that she can win at 64 per cent of her game. So far nobody's taken more than three sets off her.

Dad could be correct.