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LONDON -- They have met 21 times as professionals, three times in Grand Slam finals and innumerable others as junior rivals growing up in tiny Belgium.
But Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne have never clashed on the game's grandest stage until now.
"It just shows how long our careers have been already and how consistent we both have been in our careers," says No.2 Clijsters, who will play third-ranked Henin-Hardenne for the 22nd time in the Wimbledon semifinals Thursday. Clijsters trails 11-10 in head-to-head meetings.
The other semifinal pits top-seeded Amelie Mauresmo of France against No.4 Maria Sharapova of Russia.
The Belgians set up their latest confrontation with straight-sets quarterfinal wins Tuesday. Clijsters held off China's Li Na 6-4, 7-5, and Henin-Hardenne beat French qualifier Severine Bremond 6-4, 6-4.
Clijsters, 23, and Henin-Hardenne, 24, have established one of the game's best rivalries. They have faced off more times than any active players except Lindsay Davenport and Venus Williams (27), and Davenport and Martina Hingis (25). Davenport is 30, Williams is 26 and Hingis 25.
"They've dominated, both of them, the game a lot," says Mauresmo, who defeated Anastasia Myskina of Russia 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 to reach her fourth semifinal in London.
Clijsters speaks Flemish, enjoys the camaraderie of the tour and has an American fiance, Brian Lynch, who plays professional basketball in the northern part of Belgium where Clijsters lives.
Henin-Hardenne hails from the south, speaks French, lives in the tax haven of Monte Carlo and travels in a tight entourage that includes her husband, Pierre-Yves, and longtime coach Carlos Rodriguez.
On court, their playing styles are mostly a study in contrasts as well.
Sturdy and strong, the 5-8 1/2 Clijsters ventures to the net rarely, preferring to bludgeon opponents from the baseline with her powerful forehand and two-handed backhand.
The nearly 5-6 Henin-Hardenne plays a more fluid, all-court game, serving and volleying on occasion, fluttering drop shots and slicing balls low with her one-handed backhand.
"The only thing they have in common is they come from the same small European country," ESPN's Pam Shriver says.
Their relationship deteriorated when Henin-Hardenne beat Clijsters to win her first major at the French Open in 2003.
As the two battled for the top ranking that season, Clijsters charged Henin-Hardenne with gamesmanship during one tense final in San Diego.
When Henin-Hardenne came back hours after needing intravenous fluids to defeat Clijsters again in the U.S. Open final later that summer, members of Clijsters' camp publicly suggested the pint-sized but powerful Henin-Hardenne used performance-enhancing drugs.
Henin-Hardenne flatly said the two were no longer friends at the 2003 year-end championships in Los Angeles.
Players and women's tour officials say the animus has dissipated in the last couple of years as both former No.1's have matured and settled into their roles as perennial Grand Slam contenders.
For the first time in three years, both played on the Belgian Fed Cup team this spring, where they chummed around and even played doubles together.
"We've been very professional adults about that," Henin-Hardenne says of their return to Fed Cup as teammates. "So, like I always say, there's a lot of respect between each other. That's it, and that's very important."
To Clijsters, they have always gotten along.
"My feeling towards her has never changed," she says. " It has always been the same. I've always been nice to her."
Still, as Henin-Hardenne reiterated in Paris last month, they aren't about to make dinner plans together.
"I wouldn't say they are good friends," ESPN commentator Mary Joe Fernandez says.
If their first match at the All England Club seems overdue, their place in the last four is not. They are the only women to reach the semifinals or better at all three majors this year.
Henin-Hardenne has been the sharper player through five rounds, failing to drop a set.
Henin-Hardenne also has been better in big matches, going 3-0 against Clijsters in Grand Slam finals and 4-2 in majors overall, including a semifinal win on her way to a third French Open crown last month.
Henin-Hardenne owns five majors to Clijsters' one, the 2005 U.S. Open, and will be the favorite Thursday.
"Until (Clijsters) proves she can beat her in a major, to me you have to bet on Justine," says Shriver, noting that it has been five years since Clijsters beat her slightly older rival in a Grand Slam tournament.
ESPN's Fernandez says the pressure is off Clijsters at Wimbledon since she's been running under the radar and has lost to Henin-Hardenne twice in the last month, including a grass-court tuneup in Eastbourne won by Henin-Hardenne two weeks ago.
"It a mental match for them," Fernandez says, "but Justine has the edge."
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