( CNN ) -- China 's Li Na recovered from 5-0 down in the opening set to defeat third seed Kim Clijsters 7-6 6-3 in the final of the Sydney International tournament on Friday . World number three Clijsters looked destined to power through the first set , after taking just 19 minutes to open up her advantage , only for eighth seed Li to fight back to eventually win it 7-3 in the tie-break . Clijsters , 27 , had won four of her previous five meetings with Li , but the world number 11 secured the second set to win her first WTA Tour title since June 2010 . `` She 's definitely a player who has every quality to win a grand slam , '' Clijsters said of her opponent , a semifinalist at last year 's Australian Open , on the WTA 's website . `` She 's a contender who probably is n't being focused on enough . Mentally she maybe gets a little bit nervous in big matches , but she can beat any top player out there when she 's playing her best . '' U.S. Open champion Clijsters would have moved up to second in the world rankings with a win , and the Belgian admitted she was not on top form at Sydney Olympic Park . `` I was n't serving great ... gradually you just try to fight , but then it becomes frustrating when you know you 're not playing your best . '' In the men 's draw , Serbia 's Viktor Troicki is set to meet Gilles Simon of France in Saturday 's final after a 6-4 7-6 ( 7-4 ) triumph over Florian Mayer . Despite his win , fourth seed Troicki explained how he had struggled with the weather conditions . The Australian Open should be in February ! `` I would say the match was pretty bad , '' the world number 30 told the tournament 's website . `` It was quite windy . We were both struggling with our games . I was n't so happy with my performance , but still I 'm happy that I won . There was a lot mistakes from both sides . '' Simon progressed at the expense of Latvian third seed Ernests Gulbis with a 7-6 ( 7-1 ) 6-0 win in 73 minutes . Elsewhere , Australia 's Jarmila Groth beat her doubles partner , Czech fifth seed Klara Zakopalova , 6-3 6-2 to progress into the final of the Hobart International tournament . It will be sixth seed Groth 's first title match on home soil and she will face America 's Bethanie Mattek-Sands , who disposed of China 's Peng Shuai 4-6 6-1 6-1 to reach her first WTA Tour final .
Li Na beats world No . 3 Kim Clijsters 7-6 6-3 in the final of the Sydney International . Li recovers from going 5-0 down in 19 minutes to win the first set on a tie-break . - The U.S. Open begins with Roger Federer winning his third consecutive title at Flushing Meadows, New York. Jarmila Groth and Bethanie Mattek-Sands will contest the Hobart International final .