• Australian Open, Day Ten

Clijsters and Zvonareva set up US Open rematch

Some commotion in the crowd saw Vera Zvonareva lose her way momentarily © Getty Images

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• Profile: Kim Clijsters | Vera Zvonareva

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Kim Clijsters and Vera Zvonareva overcame off-court distractions to record straight sets victories and set up an Australian Open semi-final clash to repeat their US Open final of last year, which Clijsters won.

Clijsters took out Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3 7-6 go through despite the Australia Day celebrations taking her mind off the task during the second set. A pod of fighter jets completed a low flyover above Rod Laver Arena, screaming their loud engines onto the court. But Clijsters put a positive spin on the event, claiming they had helped her lift during a flat performance.

"I didn't feel that great out there today," Clijsters said. "I felt a little bit heavy and tired in the legs. I hung in there, she's a tricky player. But I think the planes took me higher! It was little scary actually. A couple of times I looked up and they were flying really low over the stadium. I was just happy to see them go over!"

It was a classic clash of styles as Clijsters looked to make the play and dictate to Radwanska, who adopted a more reserved strategy and simply looked to keep the ball in court. A below par Clijsters recorded 41 winners and 37 unforced errors to Radwanska's 12-13 count. But the No.3 seed and tournament favourite made real inroads on Radwanska's serve: the Pole landed 82% of her first serves in but won just half those points as Clijsters broke her six times.

Vera Zvonareva overcame some off-court distractions of her own and a Petra Kvitovic fightback to win 6-2 6-4 and win through to the Australian Open semi-finals on Wednesday.

Having raced through the first set and opened a 3-0 led in the second, Zvonareva was looking on track for a comfortable victory but outside agents conspired against her. An elderly woman in the crowd fell on the stairs, causing a commotion in the stands that was in the second seed's line of sight above Kvitovic's head.

Zvonareva, concerned for the woman, asked for play to be halted but the chair umpire said the show must go on. Unsettled, she lost the next two games and then both players got another shock as the Australia Day 21-gun salute started outside Rod Laver Arena. Kvitovic won another two games before Zvonareva was able to perform her ritual head-under-the-towel meditation at the change of ends.

Kvitovic deserved her share of credit for the swing in momentum as she had came out hitting the ball far harder in the second set. But with her mind clear, Zvonareva regained her composure and finished off a deserved, if slightly unconventional, victory.

Zvonareva said the traditional 21-gun salute - a series of loud cannon blasts - had caught her off guard, along with the injured lady who was eventually taken away in a wheelchair by ambulance officers.

"I didn't know they were going to go off during this match," she said. "It was a bit of a difficult moment. And someone was not feeling right there. It was a bit difficult to play because someone is feeling bad and we're just here to play tennis. The chair umpire said we had to play on no matter what. So I had to keep my concentration and then there was all this noise. It was a bit distracting but I kept my focus."

Explaining her head-under-the-towel ritual, she said: "I'm just trying to relax my eyes. It helps to keep my focus on the tennis ball because when you're playing at this intensity the ball is travelling very fast and you need to keep your concentration. It helps me, I don't know if it will work for everyone!"

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