Australian Open: Serena Williams to Play Maria Sharapova in the Australian Open Final

Serena Williams, unseeded and ranked No81 in the world, made it back to a Grand Slam final for the first time in two years with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 win over Nicole Vaidisova at the Australian Open today.

Williams, who has seven Grand Slam titles to her name, weathered Vaidisova's powerful forehands and gave back plenty of her own, sometimes surprising the 17-year-old Czech with her speed around the court and the pace of her ball.

Vaidisova broke Williams' serve in the first game and was dictating early rallies until Williams broke back to level at 3-3. The pair traded breaks late in the set, with Vaidisova going ahead 5-4 and having a set point on serve before Williams rallied to break back and force a tiebreaker.

The American led 5-1 in the tiebreaker but allowed Vaidisova back to 5-5, serving consecutive double-faults. She set up set point with a backhand winner and took the set after Vaidisova dumped a forehand into the net.

Williams broke Vaidisova twice in the second set but the No 10 seed rallied and won four straight games, saving four match points after being down 0-40 to hold the ninth game. "I almost did a gagarooney there," said Williams. "Basically, you know gagging."

Her 10th ace of the match, on a second serve, set up Williams' sixth match point, and she finally cashed this one, throwing her hands in the air and leaning back to look at the sky.

The 2005 champion will face the No1 seed, Maria Sharapova ,in the final, after the 19-year-old Russian brushed Kim Clijsters aside 6-4, 6-2 in the second semi-final.

After leading 5-1 in the second, she needed six match points before sealing the match with an overhead.

"She played some incredible points on match point," Williams said. "She just got relaxed. It reminded me a bit of myself. I just tried to stay focused and tried to stay calm - it was just great."

Sharapova overcame an early service break to dominate Clijsters, who was only able to convert two of her 12 breakpoint chances despite the Russian making eight double-faults and 33 unforced errors.

"I saw those double faults come in at the wrong times. But somehow I managed to fight through and make the first serve when I had to," Sharapova said. "That was the key and is also going to be the key in the final.

Sharapova was at her best under pressure, fending off seven break points in the second set. She rallied from 0-40 in the first game with a pair of aces and three forehand winners.

Sharapova, the US Open champion, will be making her first appearance in an Australian Open final after two losses in the semi-finals, one of them to Willams in 2005.

Sharapova said she was looking forward to a rematch with Williams. "I'm excited for that. She came into this tournament without any expectations, and she is playing great tennis," she said. "To be in the final of a Grand Slam, that takes a lot of hard work. She's won many of these titles - I have a lot to catch up."

Clijsters, who will retire at the end of the season and plans to start a family, has lost four semi-finals here and the 2004 final. "I'm sorry I couldn't come up with a better match today," she said.

Williams is now just one game away from an improbable title. In between her win here in 2005 and her run to this year's final, Williams had not beaten at top 10 player and even dropped out of the top 100 at one point last year. By reaching the final, she is expected to surge back into the top 20.

"I can't believe it. That's awesome - that was so fast," Williams said. "I'm excited. I have nothing to lose. I'm back in the top 20, that means so much to me."

Williams played only four tournaments in 2006, finishing the season 12-4 and without a title. She was the ninth-lowest ranked player to make a Grand Slam semi-final since computer rankings were introduced in 1975.

If she wins, she would be only the second unseeded player to win the Australian in the open era.