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Kim Clijsters eased into the final of the Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open on Saturday when Ana Ivanovic was forced to retire after completing just three games of their semifinal match.

The fourth-seeded Clijsters was ahead 2-1 in the first set when Ivanovic called it quits because of a left foot injury.

Ivanovic appeared to injure herself while returning a shot. After receiving treatment, she tried to continue but played just two more points before conceding.

Clijsters will try for her third title of 2010 on Sunday against 10th-seeded Russian Maria Sharapova, who outlasted fellow countrywoman Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 in the night session.

The Belgian star captured her second U.S. Open crown last summer in her return to competitive tennis after a more than two-year absence to start a family, and this year claimed the titles at the season-opener in Brisbane and in Miami.

This is Clijsters' first tournament since a quarterfinal loss to Vera Zvonareva at Wimbledon. She sat out most of the clay-court season and missed the French Open during the spring because of a left foot injury.

On Sunday, Clijsters will try for her 38th career WTA singles crown.

Sharapova waited out a power failure in the second set of her match to improve to 5-0 in semifinal matches this year. She holds a 2-2 record in title matches this season.

The 23-year-old Sharapova will go for her 23rd career title on Sunday.

Clijsters and Sharapova will be meeting for the eighth time. Clijsters owns a 4-3 record in the series, but Sharapova has won the last three in a battle between these two former top-ranked players. However, the two stars have not met since the semifinals of the 2007 Australian Open.

This week's champ will take home $350,000.

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