Tennis: Justin Henin-Hardenne hopes to join an elite club today when she faces Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova in the French Open final.

The 23-year-old Belgian is seeking her third Roland Garros title and her fifth major, which would put her level with Switzerland's Martina Hingis and America's Venus Williams.

Henin-Hardenne won here in 2003 and 2005 and also won in New York in 2003 and at the Australian Open in 2004.

Hingis, who has just returned to the game after a three-year break, before which she dominated the sport, won three Grand Slam titles in 1997 and got to the final of the French Open. She then won the Australian Open twice, in 1998 and 1999.

For Henin-Hardenne, the mark, if she should beat Kuznetsova, would come without the cacophony of acclaim that the other two players received.

When Venus Williams entered the sport and along with her sister Serena brought it to a different level, it was said players like the young Belgian would not be able to survive the greater muscle power and aggression of the new game. Frail in comparison to some of the new breed, Henin-Hardenne has shown resilience and a hard core that belies her relatively slight physique.

Hingis was always marked out to be a phenomenal player. At the age of 12 she won the Roland Garros junior tournament, for under-18s, and replaced Jennifer Capriati as the youngest Grand Slam junior winner.

While Henin-Hardenne strives to become one of the great players of her time, so too does Kuznetsova step on to the Philippe Chatrier court as the fourth Russian to play in the French Open final - following Anastasia Myskina, Elena Dementieva and Olga Morozova, who was beaten by Chris Evert in 1974. So far Myskina is the only Russian to have won the title.

What she is up against is the player that most others, including Kim Clijsters, who lost in a short confrontation in the semi-final, regard as the best player in the world on clay. Henin-Hardenne has yet to drop a set in the tournament and her playing time totals just seven hours and 47 minutes over 12 sets.

Kuznetsova, who will turn 21 later this month, has had a more gruelling journey and has had to fight from behind in several of her matches. In her semi-final against the 17-year-old Nicole Vaidisova, the Czech player was a set up and serving for the match at 5-4 when Kuznetsova turned it all around.

"I just have to play a great game," said Kuznetsova. "I played her (Henin-Hardenne) two weeks ago in Berlin and she had to play very well to beat me.

"It's going to be very tough but I have nothing to lose out there."