This time, it should be different. That's what Australian Open champion Amelie Mauresmo seems to think about her anticipated rematch with Justine Henin-Hardenne for the Wimbledon crown.
In Melbourne, her big win was tarnished when a stomach ailment forced Henin-Hardenne to retire trailing 1-6, 0-2.
"I really think this final is going to be about tennis, not what happened before," a victorious Mauresmo said to reporters at a postmatch conference.
"That's what I want it to be. And that's what I'm going to focus on. It's good that it's Justine again in the final, and she probably feels happy about that, also, to have the opportunity of revenge for the final in Australia."
Just over five months since she defeated Henin-Hardenne for her first Grand Slam title, the just turned 27 year-old top seeded Mauresmo setup a rematch after a hard fought three set win over 2004 Wimbledon winner Maria Sharapova, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 at Centre Court at the All England Club Thursday.
It was almost deja vu for the No.1 seeded Frenchwoman, who the past two years in the same semifinal round came unglued after capturing the first set and holding a 3-1 break lead before falling to Serena Williams two years ago and Lindsay Davenport last year.
"People kept asking me what I learned from those three semifinals. What I learned today was how to win. It was not perfect, but it was still a win, and a convincing one," Mauresmo pointed out.
Playing cleaner tennis than her opponent, Mauresmo took the first set and was up by the identical 3-1 margin which doomed her in previous years. When the fourth seeded Sharapova fought out of a 0-40 triple break point hole to hold for 2-3, the match suddenly took a similar path when the resilient Russian broke back in the sixth game thanks to one of two Mauresmo double faults.
With the momentum finally hers, Sharapova held for 4-3, then broke Mauresmo again before needing four set points to run off the last five games and square the match.
It was at that moment Mauresmo took a break to regroup before the final set. The strategy worked as she regained her composure to get out of a 0-30 hole and hold in the opening game.
A critical second game would then ensue where both battled before it was decided. After Sharapova saved two break points, an untimely double fault and long forehand put her down a break 0-2. The huge swing continued when Mauresmo served an ace to hold for 3-0 before taking a double break 4-0 lead on another Sharapova double fault.
But in a match that was so unpredictable, it wasn't over when the 19 year-old No.4 seed immediately got one break back and then pulled within 2-4 with a service hold.
Amazingly, Sharapova held one break point in the seventh game to get back on serve. But another clutch ace by Mauresmo helped her get out of trouble to lead 5-2.
A game from her first ever Wimbledon final, the No.1 seed converted her second match point when a Sharapova forehand sailed long for her sixth break to clinch victory. An excited Mauresmo jumped in the air and pumped her fist before being congratulated by a gracious Sharapova at the net.
In the first women's semifinal of the day, a French Open all-Belgian rematch once again went to Henin-Hardenne, who prevailed over 2005 U.S. Open winner Kim Clijsters 6-4, 7-6 (4).
Against an opponent she was very familiar with, the five-time slam champion climbed out of a break down in each set to improve to 12-10 in 22 career meetings.
Unlike how easy her straight set victory came at Roland Garros, Henin-Hardenne was forced to work harder by Clijsters this time.
When the 23 year-old No.2 seed broke for 4-3 in the opening set, the French Open winner immediately responded by breaking back for four all. After holding for 5-4, the opportunistic 24 year-old No.3 seed broke Clijsters at love thanks to a couple of loose backhands to claim the set.
Despite dropping the final three games and her serve twice to lose the set, it didn't undeter Clijsters in the second set. After holding for one apiece, she broke Henin-Hardenne for the second time in the match thanks to a double fault.
The seesaw battle continued when Henin-Hardenne broke back in the sixth game to square the set. After each player held twice for five all, Clijsters then suddenly broke her compatriot at love, punctuating it with a crosscourt forehand winner.
But she couldn't serve out the set. Instead, her fiesty opponent broke back for the fourth time in seven tries to force a tiebreak.
In it, it was Henin-Hardenne who took control to go up 6-3 and setup three match points. After Clijsters saved one, the elder Belgian came up with a nifty crosscourt running backhand pass to seal the victory and advance to her second Wimbledon final- pumping her fist in celebration before receiving congrats from her opponent.
She'll now have a chance to make history by becoming the 10th woman to win a career Grand Slam and capture all four majors. Despite being in line for such a worthy accomplishment, she didn't make a big deal out of it.
"I don't have anything to prove to anyone anymore," expressed Henin-Hardenne to reporters.
"I think I proved enough on the tennis court the fighter I am, how much I can compete. There's always a lot of determination. It's just about myself, and I hope I can win this title."
Nadal Easily Into Men's Semis: Rafael Nadal made it three consecutive impressive straight set wins, defeating 22nd seeded Finn Jarkko Nieminen 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in the final men's quarterfinal to advance to his first Wimbledon semifinal. Rain forced the match to be played a day later.
The No.2 seeded two-time French Open winner sealed the victory with a volley winner to become the first left-hander into the semifinals since 2001 champion Goran Ivanisevic.
Nadal will take on Australian Open runner up Marcos Baghdatis (18) later today while three-time defending champion Roger Federer meets unseeded Jonas Bjorkman.
If the top seeded Federer and Nadal advance, it would be the second straight major 1 vs 2 decided who won a slam. The No.2 seeded Spaniard prevailed to repeat at Roland Garros last month in four sets. Nadal is 6-1 against Federer, winning the last five times they played including all four this year. Those are Federer's only losses in 2006.
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