• Australian Open, Day 11

Serena and Henin through to final

Serena Williams celebrates a hard-earned point in a testing semi-final © Getty Images

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Day 11 in pictures

Serena Williams and Justine Henin will meet in the women's final of the 2010 Australian Open after both players overcame Chinese opponents in their semi-finals on Thursday - although the two matches could not have been more different.

Reigning champion Williams avenged her eliminated sister Venus by knocking out China's Li Na 7-6 7-6 on her way to the final.

Li presented as stern a test to Serena as she had to Venus the day before, but this Williams, the more successful of the champion sibling pair, was able to produce the right shots on the biggest points to claim the victory via two tie breakers in just over two hours on court.

Unlike so many opponents, Li refused to buckle under the hitting power of Williams, and even fought back to save three match points prior to the second-set tie-breaker which ultimately proved one hurdle too many.

That allowed Henin and Li's compatriot Zheng Jie to step onto Rod Laver Arena, where they remained for just under an hour as the Belgian comeback queen dominated 6-1 6-0 to reach a Grand Slam final in just her second tournament back from an extended break from tennis.

Zheng had no answers to Henin's game, which has glittered in every match over the past week and a half, and the 2004 champion simply swept aside the world No. 35. Zheng had enjoyed perhaps the easiest draw of the last four, and she was shown up to be out of her depth in her second Grand Slam semi-final following a run to this stage at Wimbledon in 2008.

Williams and Henin have never met in a Grand Slam final, and Saturday's decider is shaping up to be the match everyone wanted to see. The world No. 1 and defending champion in Williams, a legend in the flesh, will be challenged all the way by the fairytale story of the tournament, the unranked former queen of the court playing without nerves or fear.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.