BRISBANE, Australia (AP) Australian Open champion Kim Clijsters advanced to the semifinals of the Brisbane International with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Iveta Benesova on Thursday.
Clijsters won the Brisbane title in 2010 and now has an 8-0 record in the Australian Open tuneup that she missed last year.
She raced to a 5-0 lead before Benesova, who ousted U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur in the second round, launched a comeback with a run of three straight games.
Benesova got an early break to lead 2-0 in the second set before Clijsters shifted up a gear and won six straight games to earn a semifinal meeting against Daniela Hantuchova.
Third-seeded Francesca Schiavone will meet Kaia Kanepi of Estonia in the other women's semifinal.