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MELBOURNE - They are centre-court sweethearts and while one might be bidding her favourite tennis crowd farewell, the other is determined there will be a few more encores yet.
Fans face a dilemma when Martina Hingis plays Kim Clijsters in an Australian Open quarter-final today.
Who to support?
Which player will draw the most inspiration?
Hingis reached six consecutive finals from 1997 to 2002, winning the first three and is making her second Open appearance after a three-year injury-induced layoff.
Clijsters, formerly known as "Aussie Kim" when she was engaged to fellow tennis player Lleyton Hewitt, continues to be warmly embraced.
But this is her seventh and last tilt at the title. She plans to retire at the end of the year to the normality of family and home life. She is only 23 but said she would not be back.
Enthusiastic supporters welcomed Hingis back to her familiar Rod Laver Arena forum after her absence last year as she stormed from nowhere in the rankings to world No 7.
If the crowd swings behind Clijsters, the Belgian will have another weapon in an arsenal that already looks ominous.
Clijsters and Hingis have played eight times and are tied at 4-4. But Clijsters has won their past three meetings, including quarter-finals at last year's Australian and French Opens.
Hingis dropped a set for the first time this year, against China's Li Na in the fourth round, while Clijsters has romped through to the last eight with a series of straight sets closeouts.
Good friends, their progress has been the subject of some gentle teasing. "We always joke around in the locker room, " Clijsters said.
"At the start of the week, we were teasing each other about who was going to finish their match quicker.
"It's fun. It's a healthy relationship. We all try to win when we're out there, of course. That's normal - we know what we're here for."
Clijsters said she was in good shape mentally and physically and was "capable of running a lot of balls down, defending well" but she was wary of the crafty Hingis.
"She always comes up with some unbelievable shots that you don't expect," Clijsters said.
She said last year's win over the Swiss here was meaningless in the context of today's match.
"No, it's always nice if you beat a player but I've lost to her in the past.
"[Today's] a totally different match ... you have to go out there and fight for every point."
Hingis is nervous about being steamrolled by the powerful Belgian.
"I know I have to come out 100 per cent from the beginning, otherwise I'll be run over," she said.
"Last year, we had a great match here. I was able to fight back - it was quite a slow start."
In today's other showdown for a semifinal spot, top seed Maria Sharapova clashes with 12th seed and fellow Russian Anna Chakvetadze.
The pair have met twice before, both times in 2005. Sharapova won the first match, at the French Open, easily but was stretched to 4-6 6-4 7-5 the next time, on a hardcourt surface at Los Angeles.
Both are 19 but Sharapova has the vastly more impressive resume. She is the winner of 15 tour titles, including Wimbledon, which she claimed in 2004 at 17, and last year's US Open.
Chakvetadze won two tournaments last year and is on a hot streak this season, having won in Hobart two weeks ago, but Sharapova is confident.
"I think she's more of a developed player [since their last meeting]. She's definitely a lot more experienced," Sharapova said.
"She's played more of the top players and has had great wins over some of them.
"But if I play like I did in my last match, I think my chances are
pretty good," she said.
ORDER OF PLAY QUARTER-FINALS
-Maria Sharapova (RUS) v 12-Anna Chakvetadze (RUS)
4-Kim Clijsters (BEL) v 6-Martina Hingis (SUI)
12-Tommy Haas (GER) v 3-Nikolay Davydenko (RUS)
10-Fernando Gonzalez (CHI) v 2-Rafael Nadal (ESP)
- AAP