Serena Williams's Grand Slam stranglehold was ripped apart at the French Open on Thursday when Justine Henin-Hardenne beat the American top seed 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 in a momentous women's semi-final.
Henin-Hardenne bewitched the American with her breathtaking shots to set up a first all-Belgian Grand Slam final against Kim Clijsters.
Undefeated in the Slams since losing to her elder sister Venus in the 2001 U.S. Open final, Serena held all four major crowns heading into this semi-final and had been a strong favourite to retain her title.
"She wasn't very happy, but that is sport... that is tennis," fourth seed Henin-Hardenne said after receiving the briefest of congratulations from her opponent.
"I stayed focused on what I had to do. It is never easy to play Serena. It is a very intense emotional moment.
"She has had lots of chances recently. It's about time she gave others a chance.
"There are no words to express what I am feeling. This is my first final at Roland Garros."
Henin-Hardenne will face second seed Clijsters in Saturday's showpiece match -- a repeat of the 2001 semi-final, which Clijsters won.
Frail, delicate and one of the sports most gifted exponents, the clash between Henin-Hardenne and the muscular powerhouse Serena always promised to be an intriguing one.
It did not disappoint.
BEJEWELLED BUTTERFLY
Serena waltzed onto the court with a bejewelled butterfly clasp in her hair and the rhinestone shoulder strap of her bright orange dress sparkling in the sun.
Henin-Hardenne was more businesslike. The only jewellery she wore with her conventional tennis outfit was her wedding ring, glinting as she sped around the court.
Speed she did and she roared into an early 3-0 lead with two breaks of serve against the formidable Serena delivery.
The Henin-Hardenne backhand is a thing of beauty but also lethal. The damage it did to Serena's groundstrokes was immeasurable in early rallies as she leaned into the ball, thrashing it this way and that.
The last time the pair had met, in Charleston earlier this year, the Belgian had won. But this is a Grand Slam and still Serena was the strong favourite.
She broke back once and then held for 3-2 but Henin-Hardenne cranked up her own power and motored into a 5-2 lead with another break of the Serena serve.
She quickly earned two set points, but Serena thundered one return past the Belgian and another went by the wayside before Henin-Hardenne earned a third. This time she made no mistake, smashing an ace down the centre for the set 6-2 after 30 minutes.
Stupefied, Serena sat shaking her head and staring into space at the changeover as her opponent buried her head in a towel.
FLOATING BACKHANDS
The pair were inseparable in the second set, Henin-Hardenne ghosting around the court, ripping and floating backhands in equal measure. Serena tore into the ball with all her might.
After 73 minutes Serena got her reward. Converting her third break point when the Belgian fired a forehand long, the champion shrieked encouragement to herself as she took a 5-3 lead.
Serving for the set, Serena found herself breakpoint down when Henin-Hardenne hit a beautifully-rolled backhand on to her toes but the champion saved it with a beefy serve.
A lame forehand into the net handed the Belgian a second break chance and this time she converted with a feather-light forehand drop volley followed by an emphatic smash past the world number one.
But Serena was not ready for her run of 33 straight Grand Slam matches to be ended and in the next game broke for the set with a thunderous backhand down the line.
Rattled, Henin-Hardenne could sense victory slipping from her grasp and when Serena broke for a 3-1 lead in the decider it looked as though her chance had gone.
But the Belgian had no monopoly on jangling nerves, however, and throughout a tense third both players struggled to hold serve.
With the score locked at 5-5, Serena slammed a backhand into the tramlines to give the fourth seed her third break of the set and finally, after, two hours 20 minutes Henin-Hardenne held to clinch the match.
The petite Belgian pumped her arms in the air as Belgians and French alike roared her triumph.
Clijsters too good for Petrova
Earlier in the day, a large slice of luck sent Clijsters skipping past Russian Nadia Petrova 7-5, 6-1.
The pair had been neck-and-neck throughout the first set before a Clijsters shot slapped into the net cord as unseeded Petrova held set point.
The ball hovered on top of the net before dribbling on to the Russian's side. Clijsters was off the hook, Petrova was demoralised and from then on the match went the Belgian's way.
"Those things can definitely turn matches around," she smiled as she left the court. "Once I broke her back I felt really confident I could do it."
Petrova was trying to become the first Russian to reach a Grand Slam final since Olga Morozova did so here and at Wimbledon in 1974.
Belarussian Natasha Zvereva lost in the final here in 1988 under the Soviet flag.
As the players scouted out each other's game, Petrova looked to be in with a fighting chance of making her mark.
CRASHING FOREHAND
Pushing the ball deep, the 20-year-old Muscovite kept second seed Clijsters on the run, moving her from side to side with metronomic consistency.
Clijsters, runner-up here in 2001, is nothing if not consistent, though, and stayed with the Russian as the score inched up to 4-4 without either player managing to break.
Petrova grabbed the first break of serve, thumping her groundstrokes and stretching the scampering Belgian further and further.
At 30-40 on Clijsters' serve Petrova hit a sharply-angled backhand crosscourt before crashing a forehand into the opposite corner. Clijsters sprinted for it but could only slap the ball wide into the tramlines to hand Petrova a 5-4 lead.
Serving for the set, the Russian eased into a 40-30 lead and looked to have clinched the set when Clijsters' drop shot hit the top of the net.
It was the point which effectively decided the match and Petrova never really recovered.
Four points later Clijsters was on level terms again. She held to 15 to nose 6-5 ahead and then clinched the set herself when she crunched a crosscourt forehand into the backhand side of the court for a clean winner.
The Russian won just one more game as Clijsters wrapped up victory, fittingly with a delicate drop shot, after 70 minutes.
