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As the glamour girls of Belgian tennis - Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin - prepare to contest the WTA final in Brisbane tonight, Wickmayer scooped them with a 6-3 6-2 sweep of the favourite in Auckland.

"I guess it has been Belgium''s week this week," she beamed. "It is nice to have a good week for Belgium in the first week of the year ... let''s hope we can continue."

Wickmayer (20) came into the match having beaten her rival in the only previous encounter, but began in the worst possible fashion, losing the first point with a double fault and dropping service in the opening game.

But the third-seeded wildcard slowly worked her way back into rhythm, strongly challenging Pennetta''s service in the next game before eventually breaking in the sixth and again in the eighth.

Wickmayer won five straight games to take out the first set in 39 minutes.

"From 3-1 down, I really played the perfect match," she said. "I was really agressive ... she made me play my best tennis.

"I knew if I didn''t play aggressive, the ball would just keep coming back. She plays amazing tennis when she is not under pressure.

"I knew if I was agressive I could either play amazing or make a lot of mistakes. But from the beginning of the match, I felt really well ... I made some stupid mistakes, but knew as the match went further, I wouldn''t make them any more."

Pennetta had looked irrepressible all week, but her game began to crack under the Belgian''s relentless pressure.

The pair swapped service breaks to start the second set, but Wickmayer broke again for 3-2 and then two games later to seal the deal.

"I think this is a week that will stay in my heart and soul for the rest of my life."

She had needed a wild card entry after her brush with drug-testing authorities originally resulted in a one-year ban. By the time that suspension was overturned, the field for Auckland had been filled.

Wickmayer also lost her place in the Australian Open main draw and now faces qualifying rounds despite her world ranking of 16.