Lesbian tennis
pro reaches Australian Open final

Amelie Mauresmo, a gay tennis pro from France, reached her first Grand Slam final in seven years when Kim Clijsters retired from their Australian Open semifinal Thursday. Mauresmo was leading 5-7, 6-2, 3-2 when the second-seeded Clijsters withdrew because of an injured right ankle. Clijsters's departure ended the prospect of an all-Belgian final with Justine Henin-Hardenne.

After breaking Mauresmo to get back on serve in the third set and then holding game point at 40-0 in the fifth game, Clijsters let Mauresmo back in with two unforced errors and a double fault. Facing a break point, she stumbled and fell to the court when Mauresmo hit a forehand behind her. Clijsters had her ankle heavily taped and played only one more point before retiring.

"We had such a great battle.... It's a little bit of an unfinished match, but that's the way it is sometimes," Mauresmo said. "I just hope she's going to get better."

Third-seeded Mauresmo hasn't returned to a Grand Slam final since losing the 1999 Australian Open decider to Martina Hingis. That remains the 26-year-old Frenchwoman's best run at a major. "I can [hardly] remember I made the final here," Mauresmo said jokingly. "I'm very happy to do it again. I've been waiting so long, and I hope it's going to go my way."

Mauresmo will meet Henin-Hardenne in the Australian Open championship match on Saturday. (AP, with additional reporting by Advocate.com)