Not for the first time has Martina Hingis departed Roland Garros with whistles and booing refusing her a respectable interment. As she left the French open at the semi-final stage for the third time in her career, Jennifer Capriati stepped up to reconfirm her transformation from a misfit prodigy to an elite player in world tennis.

Capriati now hopes to follow the Australian Open, which she won at the beginning of the year, with the second Grand Slam of the season.

Only 17-year-old Kim Clijsters stands in her way. Clijsters defeated her compatriot Justine Henin 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 to become the first Belgian player to reach the women's final of a Grand Slam event.

Coincidentally the all-Belgian semifinal was the sixth youngest in Roland Garros history, the youngest being that of Monica Seles and Capriati. Seles at 16 beat 14-year-old Capriati in 1990.

That is where Capriati's odyssey began and she has not been short of people to point that out as she squeezed out a frustrated Hingis in two sets 6-4, 6-3.

The match was strewn with possibilities for both players and after a first set scare when Capriati called on a trainer to attend a problematic right knee, it began to fall her way through a fresh breeze and occasional showers.

Hingis, although denying the crowd had any input into the eventual outcome, was roundly jeered and booed and on a number of occasions irritably yelped.

By the end of the second set the top seed had also hurled her racquet onto the clay as Capriati, leading 4-3, came back from 40-0 down on the Hingis serve to break the world number one for 5-3 and serve out for the match.

That was the key moment after a first set that offered both players break opportunities. Hingis broke twice, Capriati three times to claim it 6-4.

"She overwhelmed me at times. She just played too good," said Hingis. "She is very dedicated. She lives for tennis right now.

Maybe she hasn't always done that in the past."

Capriati, at 25, was in no mood for cautious pieties or taking the Williams' sisters line of it just being another match.

"Right now I just want to scream at the top of my lungs," she said "I just want to jump out right now. I'm just really excited . . . my instinct was just to go for it. I had being playing real aggressive tennis the whole match. I didn't want to give my chance away because maybe I could not have gotten it back this time."

What Clijsters will have to weather in tomorrow's final are Capriati's coruscating groundstrokes and a big serve when it holds up under pressure. It was pointed out that she occasionally fractures on serve at big moments. She modestly pointed out that it has won her the Australian title and has got her to this final.

But Clijsters indicated against Henin that she's prepared for pressure. The younger player was scalped 6-2 in the first set of their match as Henin missed nothing, her scything forehand doing most of the damage.

It then took an extraordinary effort for Clijsters to stay in the match at 4-3 down in the second set, which appeared to throw Henin into doubt.

Her forehand broke down, her serving faltered with a double fault for 4-4 and from their on the momentum shifted to Clijsters.

Henin's waspish mobility remained but her shot-making evaporated.

Clijsters claimed the second 7-5 and the third 6-3. Crucially in that final set Henin hit four unforced errors in her service game to trail 4-2 with Clijsters holding twice for the match.

"Mentally I was becoming weak," admitted Henin afterwards. "I don't think it was a physical problem. It was in my head. I had a break, I was leading still but I was becoming defensive. I gave away that match today."