Melbourne, January 25:

Kim Clijsters dragged Martina Hingis back down to earth on Wednesday, knocking her out of the Australian Open to join Roger Federer, Amelie Mauresmo and Nicolas Kiefer in the semi-finals.

In the process the Belgian reclaimed the number one world ranking from Lindsay Davenport, who was sent packing in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.

Given that Hingis was a wildcard entry and ranked 349 in the world after a three-year injury layoff, it was an impressive performance as she took it to three sets before succumbing 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 in 1hr 42mins.

Federer beat Nikolay Davydenko 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (7/5) to meet Kiefer next, who spent nearly five hours on court before downing Sebastien Grosjean of France. Mauresmo and Schnyder were a total mismatch, with the Swiss seventh seed at a level below the muscular Frenchwoman.

Mauresmo took the season-ending WTA Championships and has continued to build on that form, earning herself a crack at only her second final here and attempts to break Grand Slam duck. She ran through the draw in 1999 only to be beaten in the final by Hingis.

Quarter-final Results

Men: Nicolas Kiefer beat Sebastien Grosjean 6-3, 0-6, 6-4, 6-7 (1/7), 8-6; Roger Federer beat Nikolay Davydenko 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (7/5)

Women: Amelie Mauresmo beat Patty Schnyder 6-3, 6-0; Kim Clijsters beat Martina Hingis

6-3, 2-6, 6-4