Clijsters tops Li in Australia again

MELBOURNE, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- Defending champion Kim Clijsters rallied for a three-set win over fifth-seeded Li Na in Sunday's fourth-round play of the Australian Open.

Clijsters, seeded No. 11, trailed a set and was down 2-6 in the second-set tiebreaker before charging back for a 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 victory over Li. The pairing was a rematch of the 2011 Australian Open final in which Clijsters also came from behind to win.

Li, the fifth seed, seemed in control with four match points in the tiebreaker but Clijsters reeled off six straight points and forced a third set. Clijsters cashed in 2-of-3 break points in that set and took advantage of 19 unforced errors by Li in the set to advance.

She'll go against world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki who dominated the first set and then held off 13th-seeded Jelena Jankovic 6-0, 7-5. Wozniacki dropped just two points on serve in the first set and had three service breaks in the second. Jankovic hampered herself with 50 unforced errors with 32 coming in the second set.

Third-seeded Victoria Azarenka and No. 8 Agnieszka Radwanska had solid straight-set wins in their fourth-round matches Sunday. Azarenka eliminated Iveta Benesova 6-2, 6-2 without losing serve. Radwanska was a 6-1, 6-1 winner over 22nd-seeded Julia Goerges in 54 minutes. She won 69 percent of the points in the match.

Clijsters is 2-0 lifetime against Wozniacki. Both previous meetings were tournament finals, including the 2009 U.S. Open. Azarenka is 6-3 against Radwanska, with the latest pairing a three-set win in the semifinals at Sydney this year.