Clijsters reached the Australian Open final in 2004

Kim Clijsters came through a tough test to overcome Alisa Kleybanova and set up a meeting with Li Na in the final of the Sydney International.

Belgian third seed Clijsters rallied after losing the first set to beat her Russian opponent 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-1).

China's Li came from a break down in the first set to beat Bojana Jovanovski of Serbia 7-6 (7-5) 6-3.

Clijsters, who won in Sydney in 2003 and 2007, will be aiming for her 41st career singles title in Friday's final.

Kleybanova, who knocked out Slovakia's Dominika Cibulkova in Wednesday's quarter-final, broke Clijsters' serve twice to claim the opening set.

But the Belgian surged into a 3-0 lead in the second set and went on to level the match.

Despite needing treatment for back and foot problems in the decider, Kleybanova kept pace with Clijsters to force a tie-break, but the world number three took control to reach the final.

606: DEBATE Can Clijsters win the Australian Open?

"If she plays like that, I think she's definitely a contender to beat a lot of top players," Clijsters said of Kleybanova's chances at the Australian Open.

"It was last year when she played Justine [Henin] and almost beat her in Melbourne. That's a perfect example of how well she can play.

"She is definitely a very tough outsider and can make it very tough for a lot of the players."

Li, who reached the semi-final of the 2010 Australian Open, needed one hour and 40 minutes to wear down Serbian qualifier Jovanovski.

"It wasn't easy, she's young but she's playing well," said Li, who last year became the first Chinese player to break into the world's top 10.

The 28-year-old, now ranked 11, is relishing her showdown with Clijsters, who she has beaten once in five previous meetings.

It was really humid and I lost a lot of fluids, so straight I went to the hotel and I went to sleep. I didn't feel good Ernests Gulbis

"I have nothing to lose because I have played her also many times," she said.

"She's a great player, so I just have to show my best tennis on the court."

In the men's tournament, Latvia's Ernests Gulbis beat Sergiy Stakhovsky to set up a semi-final with unseeded Frenchman Gilles Simon.

Gulbis revealed he was struggling with his fitness following a tough match with Igor Andreev on Wednesday.

"That match killed me physically," he said. "It was really humid and I lost a lot of fluids, so straight I went to the hotel and I went to sleep. I didn't feel good.

"I'm going to be OK. I just can't go really long matches. Don't tell Simon," he added, with a laugh.

Fourth seed Viktor Troicki of Serbia beat fifth seed and last year's finalist Richard Gasquet of France 6-4 6-4 to reach the last four, where he will meet German Florian Mayer.

Meanwhile, former world number one Lleyton Hewitt will meet Frenchman Gael Monfils in the invitational Kooyong Classic in Melbourne after he beat Russia's Nikolay Davydenko 6-3 7-6 on Friday.

Hewitt faces David Nalbandian in the first round of the Australian Open which begins next week. He beat the Argentine in the 2002 Wimbledon final.

"At Wimbledon I handled the pressure and expectation extremely well that day and played a near flawless match," said 29-year-old Hewitt.

"But a lot's happened since then and I've still got to go out there and play my game. It should be a good match."

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