Kim Clijsters has never had the pulling power of Maria Sharapova or Venus Williams. Nor has she ever sought it. She has never been involved in what tennis considers a controversy, a spiteful remark or an explosion of temper. Of all the players in the women's draw, the 24-year-old Belgian is the one who has been constantly insistent her tennis ability is a finite resource and should be carefully managed but never overly indulged.

Even from a young age, Clijsters, whose father, Leo, was Belgium's soccer player of the year in 1988, breezed on to the world stage and shocked many with her stunningly normal and reasonable opinions.

If you sought frivolity, there were any number of teenagers only too willing to spout inanities of the "totally, like you know" variety. If you wanted glamour it was Sharapova or Nicole Vaidisova or Daniela Hantuchova. If you wanted chilled-out intelligence and an ability to see the bigger picture, it has always been Lindsay Davenport or Clijsters.

Perhaps growing up in the shadow of a famous father has tempered the number two seed, who today meets her compatriot Justine Henin-Hardenne for a place in the final. Already she had declared that after next season she would retire from the game, having had enough of five-star hotels, changing time-zones and debilitating injuries.

In light of that, few here would begrudge Clijsters a Wimbledon title, even though neither her opponent nor Amelie Mauresmo, the world number one who faces the 2004 champion Sharapova in the other match, has won it.

This is the 22nd meeting of the Belgians, but don't try to tell Clijsters familiarity with the French Open champion (twice) equates to a bristling rivalry.

"People automatically think that because you lose a few times, you beat each other, it leads to tension. I've never had that. My feelings toward her (Justine) have never changed. I've always been nice to her. I've always been myself with her," says Clijsters.

"To me results don't matter at all. I like to make friends on the tour and knowing that if I stop (playing) I can still call the girls, hang out.

"Like I said before, trophies, they don't talk to you when you retire. When you are at home and sitting on a couch, you can look at your trophy room, but that's not going to talk to you."

The last two victories have belonged to Henin-Hardenne, while Mauresmo leads Sharapova two-love. But Sharapova has been successful here before, when beating Serena Williams to become the first Russian to win Wimbledon, and if her groundstrokes and serve are firing, Mauresmo faces a fierce barrage.

Sharapova is physically dominant. But Mauresmo has more variation in her game, is more comfortable at the net and won her first Grand Slam in Australia this year - after which she declared everything else was a bonus.

"I feel more relaxed . . . that I'm doing things different off court and on court," says Mauresmo. "So, you know, this might be a good help for the semi-final."