Women's No.1 seed Maria Sharapova is through to her first 
Australian Open women's final after blitzing No.4 seed Kim 
Clijsters in straight-sets on Rod Laver Arena.  

Sharapova had been a semifinalist in Melbourne for the 
past two years, but finally cleared that hurdle at her third 
attempt. She ended Clijsters' Melbourne Park campaign 
with 6-4 6-2 win.

The Belgian began the match well enough, breaking in the 
third game. Sharapova squared up in the sixth, only to be 
broken immediately. But facing a first-set defeat, the giant 
Russian rallied to break her in the eighth and tenth game 
and claim a surprise lead.

The No.1 seed then broke Clijsters in the second game of the 
second set to gain a stranglehold on the match. Clijsters had 
three chances to break back in the fifth game, but let them 
slip and Sharapova kept the pressure on her opponent. She 
sealed her berth in the final on her first match point with a 
forehand winner on Clijsters' serve,

Clijsters bid farewell to Melbourne Park at the end of her 
match, as she plans to retire at the end of the year, 
while for Sharapova, she gets a shot at her third 
Grand Slam title. 



Flying Federer storms into final

World No.1 Roger Federer has blasted his way into the final 
of Australian Open 2007 in the most emphatic fashion, 
disposing of No.6 seed Andy Roddick in straight sets, 6-4 6-
0 6-2 in a lopsided semifinal on Day 11.

All the talk leading into the match had centred on how much 
the American had bridged the gap between himself and the 
Swiss maestro in the past 12 months, but Federer quickly 
exposed such conjecture on the big stage of Rod Laver Arena.

The No.1 seed set the tone from the very first game when 
he broke Roddick's opening service game and despite losing 
his own serve in the fourth game - the only time for the 
match - Federer was able to come up with another break to 
take the first set.

If the sublime array of strokes on display in the first set had 
the American unsettled, then the Swiss master's elevated 
level of play in the second had him positively uncomfortable.

Federer broke his opponent three times, smashed 11 winners 
to two and allowed Roddick to score a paltry six points for the 
entire set as he failed to win a game.

If the American had been hoping to ride out the storm and work 
into the match in the third set he was sorely mistaken as the 
'Fed Express' continued on his way merry way, breaking in the 
first game and then the fifth to have the match in his keeping.

Amazingly, the world No.1 broke his opponent each and every 
time the opportunity presented itself - seven from seven for the 
match - and while he blotted his copybook by spurning his first 
match point, he did not waste the second, setting up a shot at 
his third Australian Open title.