Sharapova and Williams in final

Maria Sharapova ended Kim Clijsters' Australian Open dream with a convincing 6-2 6-4 semi-final victory to set-up a meeting with former champion Serena Williams.

Clijsters, who is making her final appearance in Melbourne after announcing she will retire at the end of the season, had moved virtually unchallenged through to the last four but struggled against the number one seed.

The Belgian world number five had surged into a 3-1 lead in the first set but was pegged back by the Russian, who clinched the first set in 42 minutes.

Sharapova set-up a repeat of the 2004 Wimbledon final as she claimed the second set as Clijsters failed to convert crucial break points - the 23 year-old converted just two of 12, while Sharapova claimed five breaks and was backed by a 70% first serve success rate.

Williams booked her place in the final with a 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 victory over 17-year-old Nicole Vaidisova.

Williams, who is unseeded in Melbourne after her ranking slipped following injury, survived a set point at 4-5 in the first set before Vaidisova drilled a loose forehand into the net to hand the American the tie-break after a poor start to the match.

Vaidisova had fought back from 1-5 in the tie-beak to level but was made to pay for 18 unforced errors.

Williams stormed into a 5-1 lead in the second but Vaidisova surged back to 5-3 before surviving four match points to further reduce the deficit after winning three straight games.

But the American sealed her place in the final in one hour and 46 minutes with her sixth match point as 29 errors from Vaidisova proved costly.