Azarenka reaches Australian Open final

Victoria Azarenka reached her first grand slam final with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 victory over defending champion Kim Clijsters at the Australian Open on Thursday.

Azarenka overpowered the Belgian from the baseline in the first set but her game fell apart early in the second.

However, the 22-year-old Azarenka regathered her composure with a strong deciding set to wrap up the semi-final in two hours, 12 minutes.

"I felt like my hand is about 200kg and my body is about 1,000 and everything is shaking," said the Belarussian, emotion etched over her face.

"But that feeling when you finally win is such a relief, it's like 'My God! I cannot believe it's finally over', I just want to cry."

The world number three, a Wimbledon semi-finalist last year, will face Maria Sharapova or Petra Kvitova in the Melbourne final.

Earlier, the third seed Azarenka had roared back from a set down to beat Agnieszka Radwanska 6-7, 6-0, 6-2 and reached the semi-finals.

The Wimbledon semi-finalist, who beat the Pole on the way to winning in Sydney earlier this month, looked in trouble when she lost a first set tiebreak 7-0.

However, Azarenka turned the tables in the second set, running Radwanska ragged from the baseline, before carrying the momentum into the third and sealing the win in a little over two hours.

Clijsters, on the other hand, had accounted for the top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki in the quarter-final.

The Belgian's win meant the Dane would lose her top ranking when the new list is released on Monday.

Azarenka as well as the other two semi-finalists in Melbourne, Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvotova, all have have chance to grab the top spot.