Kim Clijsters And Na Li Set to Clash in Sydney Final

Get the latest tennis news from www.TennisNow.com

World No. 3 Kim Clijsters had to work hard for the first time this week in winning at Sydney, but the effort got her one step closer to another title, not to mention the No. 2 ranking in the world. 

Clijsters outlasted Alisa Kleybanova Thursday, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, in the tournament's semifinals. 

In the other semifinal, eighth-seeded Na Li ended the Cinderella sprint of Bojana Jovanovski in quick fashion, 7-6(5), 6-3. 

Clijsters broke the 26th-ranked Kleybanova on nine different occasions to hold off the feisty Russian, advancing to her third straight final following victories at the Tour Championships and the US Open to end the 2010 season. 

Overall, Clijsters has now won 15 straight matches, and 23 of 24 dating back to last August. 

Li beat arguably the two hottest players in the tournament, Jovanovski and Svetlana Kuznetsova, to reach the final. In a match where neither player was able to hold serve for long, Li's first-set tie-breaker took the wind out of Jovanovski's sails and made the second set a far easier time. 

Click here for Medibank International Sydney Picture Gallery.

Get the latest tennis news from www.TennisNow.com