Azarenka reaches Australian Open final

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus (R) kisses Kim Clijsters of Belgium after their women's singles semi-final match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne January 26, 2012.  [Photo/Agencies]

MELBOURNE - 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.

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus celebrates after defeating Kim Clijsters of Belgium in their women's singles semi-final match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne January 26, 2012.  [Photo/Agencies]