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Clijsters battles into Sydney final

Kim Clijsters is a three-time U.S. Open champion and she has won the Flushing Meadows event for the last two years.
Kim Clijsters is a three-time U.S. Open champion and she has won the Flushing Meadows event for the last two years.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Kim Clijsters is into the final of the Sydney International tournament
  • Clijsters will face China's Li Na in Friday's final at Sydney's Olympic Park
  • Victor Troicki and Florian Mayer will meet in the semifinals of the men's draw
  • Marion Bartoli is out of the Hobart International after she lost to Klara Zakopalova

(CNN) -- World number three Kim Clijsters overcame Russia's Alisa Kleybanova 4-6 6-3 7-6 in a two-hour 38 minute battle on Thursday to reach the final of the Sydney International tournament.

Klijsters will now face China's Li Na in Friday's final and a win at Sydney's Olympic Park will see her rise to number two in the world rankings.

The 27-year-old Belgian, who had lost her only previous clash with Kleybanova, was twice forced to recover from breaks of serve in the final set before she emerged victorious.

"I'm pleased with the way I finished," the U.S. Open champion told the WTA website. "It probably wasn't my best tennis, but I worked hard for it, and that's a big part of my preparation.

Blog: The Oz Open should be in February!

It probably wasn't my best tennis, but I worked hard for it
--Kim Clijsters
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"If you're not able to play your own game or the way you like to play, you have to work your way through points and matches. You can get a lot out of a match like this."

Number-eight seed Li -- a semifinalist at the 2010 Australian Open -- defeated qualifier Bojana Jovanovski 7-6 6-3 to book her place in the final.

Jovanovski, 19, twice served for the opening set but eventually slipped to defeat against the number-eleven ranked Li.

In the men's draw, Serbia's Viktor Troicki set up a semifinal clash with Florian Mayer after he defeated Richard Gasquet 6-4 6-4.

Germany's Mayer secured his place in the last four of the competition with a straight-sets 6-4 6-1 win over Italian Potito Starace.

The second men's semifinal will see Frenchman Gilles Simon take on Latvian Ernests Gulbis, after both players scored straight-set wins at the last-eight stage.

Simon dispatched of Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-4 6-3, while Gulbis advanced at the expense of another Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky with a 6-4 6-4 win.

Elsewhere in Australia, top seed Marion Bartoli crashed out at the quarterfinal stage of the rain-hit Hobart International after defeat by the Czech Klara Zakopalova.

Weather delays meant Zakopalova was forced to play two matches on the same day, but she still had enough to beat world number 17 Bartoli 6-4 6-2.

France's Bartoli was full of praise for her opponent, who is ranked 47 in the world.

"She (Zakopalova) played unbelievable to be honest," Bartoli told the tournament's website. "I mean I'm used to playing against top 10 players, and they can barely play like that."

With her victory, the 28-year-old set up a final-four showdown against her doubles partner and local favorite Jarmila Groth.

The Australian Groth scored a comfortable triumph against Italy's Roberta Vinci in her quarterfinal tie.

In the tournament's second semifinal, Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) will meet Shuai Peng (CHN) after the American continued her impressive form after last week's victory in the Hopman Cup.