Caro or Kim - which one to the semis again?

Defending champion Kim Clijsters was handed a free pass from Li Na into this quarter final when four match points were wasted, but that is history and now it had to be the current world number one to be conquered in order for the Belgian dream of two successive Aus Opens to remain alive.

Caro has two aims, and they linked - the major aim is to win her debut Grand Slam singles title and anything else is icing on that wonderful cake. The secondary aim will be achieved by attaining the first. Caroline will be the new Aus Open champ and still world number one.

Any heights the match hoped to reach certainly were not going to be achieved in the early minutes, as the standard was below average in the kindest assessment. Kim Clijsters tried to look important and played some good looking shots to break serve but this disguised a terrible follow-up service game in which Caroline mainly watched. For her part, Wozniacki's tennis dipped below that of Kim's and befitted someone other than the number one seed, or any seed truth be told.

After five games of something occasionally striking a ball as it's meant to be struck, Clijsters led 3-2 with a break in hand. Something had to give, and it did - Wozniacki seemed to regress and instead of attacking her way out of the doldrums, she almost enabled Clijsters to gather her game into a reasonable shape, break once more for 5-2 and serve for an underwhelming set but with an overwhelming advantage.

It took much longer than required thanks to a mini but inadequate fightback from Caro. However, the impotent serve from Denmark ensured that Kim won the opening set 6-3.

The second set gave us nothing new to hope for as Kim held serve easily twice and Caro had to struggle for her opener. 1-2 and then 0-30 spelled or rather enumerated danger for the Danish number one seed. The break occurred but Caro found something extra despite the debilitating conditions and broke Clijsters to love highlighted by a running forehand crosscourt pass. 2-3 and faint signs of life in the Danish camp.

Faint hopes were dashed as the next two games clearly won by Kim over a tiring Caro had the number one seed serving at 2-5 to stay alive a bit longer. More than a bit longer thanks to brave Caroline holding then breaking Kim when the defending champ served for the match. Another solid service game and it was 5-5.

The tiebreaker was employed and surprisingly each of the first nine points went to serve. Caroline Wozniacki, who had fought so valiantly to make a contest of the second set, then lost both of her next two serves and the tiebreak 7-4.

Clijsters through to a semi final to play Victoria Azarenka (currently the virtual world number one)

Caro will now slip to number 3 in the world - maybe number 4 if Sharapova does something stunning.