Clijsters and Henin-Hardenne in final showdown

Kim Clijsters will face her Grand Slam nemesis Justine Henin-Hardenne in the final of the Australian Open after both Belgians won in Melbourne today.

Clijsters, the world No2, is without a major title after losing to Henin-Hardenne, the only player above her in the rankings, in the final at both the French and US Opens last year.

On Saturday 'Aussie Kim' will have the chance to wreak her revenge after burying concerns over her injured ankle to beat 22nd seed Patty Schnyder 6-2, 7-6.

Her victory, under the closed roof of the Rod Laver Arena, followed a far more straightforward display from Henin-Hardenne, who beat 32nd seed Fabiola Zuluaga 6-2, 6-2.

Both Clijsters and Henin-Hardenne will be competing in their first Australian Open final.

"I hope I have learned from those losses - hopefully third time lucky," said Clijsters, who shares a long history with Henin-Hardenne.

"It started from when we were playing under-10s in Belgium. We have grown up together, shared hotel rooms together at Under-14 and it is incredible to have two players like us come through at such a young age.

Clijsters had been carrying an ankle problem since the Hopman Cup and needed to pass a fitness test this morning after it flared up again during her quarter-final victory over Anastasia Myskina.

Schnyder was competitive early on but the power in Clijsters' groundstrokes pressurised her serve and two consecutive breaks sealed the first set in 22 minutes.

Clijsters then held for a fifth consecutive game at the opening of the second set and broke Schnyder for a 3-1 lead and, seemingly, the match. Schnyder slammed her racquet into the court.

However, from serving at 40-15 for a 4-1 lead, Clijsters was taken to deuce, conceded the break with a double fault and Schnyder put together a run of four consecutive games to sit serving for the set.

But Clijsters' returning power was crucial and she broke back to 15 and forced the tiebreak.

"I'm happy to get through in two sets because it's going to be tough on Saturday," said Clijsters.

Henin-Hardenne was rarely stretched by the outclassed Zuluaga, who could not cope with the Belgian's power and variety.

The reigning French Open and US Open champion had insisted Zuluaga would challenge her, despite a lack of Grand Slam experience. As the first Colombian to reach a Grand Slam semi-final she made a decent fist of it but there was a huge gap in class.

"I feel good, Henin-Hardenne said. "I have won all my matches in two sets. I have confidence and it is great to be in the final."

Henin-Hardenne, who lost to Venus Williams in the semi-final last year, broke consecutively in the opening set to race 3-0 up.

Zuluaga then had her best patch, breaking back and then holding for 3-2, but could not maintain her momentum as Henin-Hardenne broke again with a snappy backhand volley for 5-2.

The second set was tighter but Henin-Hardenne pressured the Zuluaga serve until she broke through for a 3-2 lead and won four on the spin to reach the final.

"There were long rallies but I played well on the important points and served well when I had to," added Henin-Hardenne.