Defending champion Kim Clijsters will face Vera Zvonareva in the US Open final after coming from behind to beat Venus Williams in their semi-final.

Clijsters recovered from losing the opening set to win 4-6 7-6 (7/2) 6-4 in two hours and 23 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium to extend her winning streak at Flushing Meadows to 20 matches.

The second seed won the title in 2005 and then returned to action in 2009 to regain the crown in only her third tournament and 14th match since coming out of retirement.

Looking towards Zvonareva, Clijsters said: "She's very tough opponent. I've lost my last two matches against her, so it's gonna be a tough battle.

"She's a player who doesn't give you much. She's always there, hangs in there. It's not that she has a game that's very unpredictable, but what she does she does extremely well."

Williams, who had not played since Wimbledon with a knee injury before arriving in New York, served superbly in the opening set, dropping just five points and breaking Clijsters in the seventh game.

But the American was unable to maintain that standard in the second set, twice losing serve to fall 3-0 and 5-2 behind, only for Clijsters to fail to serve out for the set at 5-3.