Australian Open Final set – Azarenka vs. Sharapova

Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova are set for a final battle with nothing more on the line than the Australian Open Title, and the World No. 1 ranking.

In one semifinal, the No. 4 seed, Sharapova, showing a remarkable comeback after shoulder surgery, defeated the No. 2 seed, Petra Kvitova in a close contest, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4. No one has ever come back this far after the type of surgery she has had.

In the other semifinal, No. 3 seed, Azarenka, downed No. 11 seed Kim Clijsters in an equally close match, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.

Azarenka defeats Clijsters to gain first major final

No. 3 seed, Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, won a hard-fought semifinal match over No. 11 seed, Kim Clijsters of Belgium, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, to advance to her first ever major final at the 2012 Australian Open.

Azarenka won the first set 6-4, then fell apart to lose the 2nd set 1-6. Clijsters was broken early in the 3rd set, but surged back, saving many game points to break back. Azarenka, however, stayed strong, breaking three times in the third set to secure victory in only her second appearance in the semifinal of a major.

Clijsters knocks Wozniacki from the top ranking

In a close match, Kim Clijsters of Belgium has effectively knocked Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark from her perch as World No. 1. In the Quarterfinals of the Australian Open, Clijsters defeated Wozniacki in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6(7-4).

Wozniacki will now be usurped by either Victoria Azarenka, Petra Kvitova, or Maria Sharapova, all three of whom are still in contention.

Clijsters dominated from the baseline for much of the match, and showed no visible effects from the twisted ankle she suffered against Na Li in the fourth round.

Clijsters tops Na Li in three-set thriller

No. 5 seed, Kim Clijsters of Belgium survived a 3-set thriller against No. 5 seed, Na Li of China 4-6, 7-6(8-6), 6-4, in a repeat of last year’s Australian Open Final.

Clijsters twisted an ankle badly in the seventh game. After taking an injury time out to have it taped, she lost the first set 6-4. Na Li served for the second set at 5-4, but Clijsters broke serve, and the 2nd set ended up going into a tie-break. Li was then up 6-2 in the tie-break, with four match points. With Li suffering from close-out-the-match jitters, Clijsters saved those four match points, winning six points in a row to take the tie-break at 8-6.

Azarenka wins WTA Apia International

No. 3 ranked, Victoria Azarenka of Belarus defeated No. 5 ranked Na Li of China in the final of the WTA Apia International played in Sydney, Australia on Friday.

Azarenka overcame a second-set lapse in the Australian warm-up tournament for a 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 win over last year’s champion Li.

After staying on serve until 4-3 in the deciding set, Azarenka broke Li for a chance to serve out the match, saving two break points in the process.

Clijsters works through rehab, plans for 2012 season

Australian Open defending champion, Kim Clijsters, is planning to try to defend her title in Melbourne in 2012.

Clijsters has not played much since winning her first Australian Open title last January. She has been hampered by foot, shoulder and abdominal injuries. She dropped out of the top 10 this week, marking the first time since May 2007 that Clijsters, Serena Williams, and Venus Williams were not in the top 10.

Clijsters is back on the practice courts preparing to play in an exhibition in Belgium in December, trying to get on track for the 2012 season. Clijsters wrote in her blog on Tuesday:

Clijsters will not defend her U.S Open title

The U.S. Open has lost three-time and defending champion, Kim Clijsters. She informed tournament officials Friday that she would be unable to participate in the season’s final major because of a strained abdominal muscle.

Clijsters, who missed Wimbledon with an ankle injury, pulled out of a tournament in Toronto this month with a muscle strain on the left side of her stomach. In a statement Friday, she said “two weeks of rehab is not enough to heal this injury.”

“Obviously I’m very disappointed,” she said. “I trained very hard this summer and felt in a good shape to play the U.S. Open.”

Rus pulls upset over Clijsters

A 20-year-old wild card, Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands, took out No. 2 seed, Kim Clijsters of Belgium Thursday in the 2nd round of the French Open, 3-6, 7-5, 6-1.

In the biggest win of her career, Rus scored on 7 of 13 break points, while Clijsters converted only 5 of 17 break point chances.

Clijsters injured her right ankle badly offcourt in April and had not played since then. However, she said her ankle was fine in the match.

Clijsters stuns Ivanovic with epic comeback

Kim Clijsters pulled out an amazing comeback in round 4 of the 2011 WTA Sony Ericsson Open in Miami on March 29, stunning Ana Ivanovic who looked to have the match in the bag.

Leading 5-1, 40-0 in the decisive third set against No. 2 seed, Clijsters, No. 19 seed Ivanovic was one point away from the biggest win of her recent comeback. But then the wheels came off. Those three match points were wiped away. Two more followed. By the time it was over, Clijsters had prevailed 7-5 in the third-set tiebreaker and completed the most epic comeback on the WTA this year. And Ivanovic had a broken racquet.

Clijsters withdraws from match against Bartoli at Indian Wells

No. 2 seed, Kim Clijsters of Belgium, was forced to withdraw from her fourth round match against No. 15 seed, Marion Bartoli of France, at the 2011 WTA BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells today. Clijsters won the first set 6-3, as was trailing 1-2 in the second when she called on her trainer for treatment on her shoulder. She withdrew one game later.

Clijsters said her shoulder pain mainly affected serving and trying to hit high forehands. She claims she withdrew largely as a precaution with Fed Cup duties and the clay court season fast approaching.