DOHA: Kim Clijsters took time to settle after a “scary” car crash on the way to her WTA Championships semifinal against Sam Stosur Saturday, but there was no stopping the Belgian once she clicked into top gear. The 27-year-old US Open champion beat Stosur 7-6, 6-1 to reach the final of the $4.55 million tournament in the Qatari capital, where she will face Caroline Wozniacki after the world No. 1 blitzed Vera Zvonareva 7-5, 6-0 in the other semi. Clijsters, who said on her Twitter site that she was “very lucky” to escape unhurt from the crash, lost the opening three games of the first set and had to fight off a set point before taking it in a tiebreak. It will be Clijsters's third appearance in the Tour Championships final. She won in 2002 and 2003. In a match-up of the world's top two, Wozniacki and Zvonareva were in danger of tiring themselves out in a titanic 12-minute opening game in which the Dane fought off a string of break points before holding serve. That seemed to take the wind out of Zvonareva's sails, and she quickly went 4-1 down with the set looking beyond her. However, the Russian steadied and had two set points at 5-4 with Wozniacki suddenly vulnerable. Wozniacki saved the set by turning the tables on Zvonareva, leveling at 5-5 before going on to seal the set 7-6. Wozniacki powered through the second set with ease. Youzhny-Kukushkin final In Russia, top seed Mikhail Youzhny will face Mikhail Kukushkin in Sunday's Saint Petersburg Open final after beating compatriot Dmitry Tursunov 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (10-8) here Saturday. In the early semifinal Kukushkin of Kazakhstan ousted Ukraine's Ilya Marchenko in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 in one hour 34 minutes to record his win in their first ever head-to-head meeting. Melzer vs. Haider-Maurer In Vienna, defending champion Jurgen Melzer and fellow Austrian Andreas Haider-Maurer advanced to the final of the Bank Austria Trophy Saturday. The top-seeded Melzer beat Spain's Nicolas Almagro 6-4, 6-4 and Haider-Maurer defeated Germany's Michael Berrer 7-6 (6), 6-7 (1), 6-3 in the other semifinal. Ljubicic, Monfils thru In France, defending champion Ivan Ljubicic beat Albert Montanes of Spain 6-3, 7-6 (4) Saturday and will face Gael Monfils of France in the Open Sud de France final. Monfils won an all-French semifinal against second-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 7-6 (2), 2-6, 6
