Tennis: Bad luck Belgium, it's advantage Sharapova

Can it really have been only 12 months since Belgium confirmed its domination of women's tennis? Since Justine Henin-Hardenne and Kim Clijsters, one and two in the world rankings, slugged it out in the Australian Open final?

Now, as the first of the year's Grand Slams gets under way, there is no sign of either among the 128 females at the starting tape.

Their demise - Henin through a newly acquired knee injury on top of a longstanding viral worry, and Clijsters because of a wrist problem which simply will not clear up - is even more dramatic than the eclipse of the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, whose time out because of physical damage led them into other interest-sapping pursuits.

At least the Williamses are on parade, though the extent of their decline is reflected in seedings of seven and eight.

Also among the missing is Jennifer Capriati, the champion in 2001 and 2002, who has withdrawn citing concerns over her shoulder. Lindsay Davenport, who can spot a golden opportunity better than most, will drag herself on to court coughing and spluttering in the hope that a gentle early-rounds canter in the Aussie sunshine will clear her bronchitis up, but the signs are that we are in line for another charge of the Russian cavalry.

The rise and rise of Russia's women is simply explained, since tennis provides an attractive route to riches in a nation where hardship remains the norm.

Maria Sharapova, seeded fourth, is one of four Russians in the top six at Melbourne, with the other spots filled by the French Open champion, Anastasia Myskina, the US Open winner, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Elena Dementieva, runner-up in both Paris and New York.

No disrespect to the other Russian lasses, but victory for Sharapova at Melbourne would add lustre to the event, just as it did for Wimbledon last July.

The long-legged blonde, still only 17, is as impressive at winning hearts as collecting scalps.

So while the champion, Henin, nurses what has been diagnosed as a "micro fracture of the femoral condyle in her right knee" and Clijsters bemoans the ongoing frailty of her wrist, the Russians will fancy their chances of tightening a grip on the women's honours.