Clijsters overpowers Zvonereva to reach final

Belgium’s Kim Clijsters wasted little time in flattening second seed Vera Zvonareva 6-3 6-3 with an awesome display of power tennis to reach her second Australian Open final on Thursday.

Third seed Clijsters, the 2004 Melbourne runner-up, will face Chinese ninth seed Li Na in Saturday’s final after overpowering her Russian opponent in just 73 minutes.

“I lifted my level compared to my other matches,” Clijsters said in a courtside interview. “I’ve played in a lot of big matches and you learn from them.

“I just keep fighting and try to be the last one standing.”

Clijsters, lime green dress and visor shimmering in the sunshine, simply had too many weapons for Zvonareva’s comfort, the three-times grand slam champion taking the first set with a fierce drive volley.

Zvonareva’s big match temperament has been questioned in the past and her fragility showed on the key points, loose shots and fluffed volleys frequently letting her down.

The second set followed a similar pattern, Clijsters chasing Zvonareva all over Rod Laver Arena and the former world number one completed an easy victory with a delicate drop volley.

Clijsters, who also thrashed Zvonareva 6-2 6-1 in last year’s U.S. Open final, will replace the Russian as the world number two with her seventh win in their 10 meetings.