Li Na ousts Caroline Wozniacki to face Kim Clijsters in final

Li became the first player from China to reach a final of a grand slam singles event yesterday, saving a match point on her way to ousting world No 1 Caroline Wozniacki in a titanic three-set encounter. The ninth seed looked down and out when Wozniacki served a set, 5-4 and 40-30 up but she escaped the danger with a booming forehand down the line before going on to break and eventually claim the second set.

A topsy-turvy deciding set could have gone either way but Li prevailed 3-6 7-5 6-3 and will now play Kim Clijsters in tomorrow's final. Clijsters proved too strong for Vera Zvonareva, beating the Russian 6-3 6-3.

Li said: "I think possibly because I have got to the final, maybe young children will see that and think, 'Maybe one day I can do the same or even better than her'.

"Perhaps also the authorities will start to look more at tennis. I know Chinese tennis is just starting but I hope that maybe after three or five years China, a bit like Russia, will have many players coming through."

Wozniacki admitted the match had swung on one or two points. "I had a match point and didn't take it," said the Dane. "Sometimes in matches it's just one ball that can change everything. I didn't take the match point and from then on she was just better on the important points. She won the most important one which was the last one."

Clijsters produced a masterclass to see off Zvonareva in one hour and 13 minutes to repeat her victory in last year's US Open final. "I was happy with the way I played and happy that I was able to raise my level against an opponent against whom I had to play well and where I had to be very consistent throughout," she said.

The last meeting between Li and Clijsters took place shortly before the Australian Open when they met in the Sydney final, the Belgian squandering a 5-0 first-set lead to go down 7-6 (7/3) 6-3.

"She's a good player. I think we're very similar type of players," said Clijsters.