Victoria Azarenka of Belarus overcame a second-set lapse Friday to beat 2011 champion Li Na 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 for the Sydney International singles title. While much of the focus in Sydney had been on the battle for the No. 1 ranking between current holder Caroline Wozniacki and No. 2 Petra Kvitova, Azarenka consolidated her No. 3 ranking and indicated she'd be a serious threat in Melbourne for the Australian Open title beginning Monday. After games had stayed on serve until 4-3 in the deciding set, Azarenka broke Li to get a chance to serve out the match herself. She saved two break points in the process. Despite the loss, French Open champion Li has plenty of confidence heading to Melbourne — she is 18-2 in singles matches in Australia since the start of last year. Her only losses in her last four tournaments Down Under came Friday and in the Australian Open final last year to Kim Clijsters. Earlier, veteran Jarkko Nieminen beat Denis Istomin 7-6 (12), 6-3 to advance to Saturday's final. Nieminen, the 2009 Sydney runner-up, will play Julien Benneteau of France, who needed six match points to finally beat 2010 Sydney champion and former Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis, 6-4, 6-4. Rochus-Ferrer final Belgium's Olivier Rochus will contest his second Heineken Open final, seven years after his first, after beating eighth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-4 Friday in a marathon semifinal. The unseeded Rochus, ranked 68, will face world No. 5 and two-time champion David Ferrer of Spain in Saturday's final, four days short of his 31st birthday. Top-seeded Ferrer beat third-seeded compatriot Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-4 after both players were forced to play quarterfinals and semifinals on the same day after rain delays Thursday. Ferrer beat Alejandro Falla of Colombia 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 and Verdasco beat doubles partner Guillermo Garica-Lopez 7-5, 6-4 in their quarterfinals. Saturday's final pits Ferrer, the Auckland champion in 2007 and 2011, against Rochus who was beaten by Spain's Fernando Gonzalez in the 2005 final. Ferrer said he played his best match of the week to beat world No. 24 Verdasco in windy conditions and in a match which was twice, briefly, interrupted by passing showers.
