Defending Australian Open champion Kim Clijsters is relishing the prospect of a round-of-16 clash with her opponent in last year's final, Li Na.
The 28-year-old Belgian won her way into the fourth round on Friday courtesy of a scrappy 6-3 6-2 win over Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova, and said she was looking forward to reacquainting herself with Li, who progressed past the third round after Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues retired hurt.
Last year Clijsters won a thrilling final 3-6 6-3 6-3, and said she was expecting a similarly tough battle against Li on Sunday.
"In a way it's going to be nice to play Li Na, to have the final from last year, because it was such a great match for both of us to be a part of," Clijsters said.
"So it would be nice to play against each other again. In a Grand Slam, you know, every draw is tough."
"You're going to be in a situation where you're going to be in the fourth round and it's always going to be tough in the fourth round. You have some tough players out there."
Clijsters said she was not entirely happy with her performance on Friday, and revealed it had taken her a while to find her feet against Hantuchova.
"First set was definitely a little bit, (I) had to get a feel for it," she said.
"I felt like I kind of just had to get, you know, find my aggressive footwork and positioning on the court."
"At the end of the day, when you're not playing your best, that's what it comes down to is just trying to play the important points as well as possible."
"I was able to do that today. So second set was much better. I'm pleased that I finished a lot better than how I started."
With 2012 likely to be her last year on the tour, Clijsters said she is still striving for improvement and feels her decision to reunite with coach Carl Maes is paying rich dividends.
"I still believe that I can improve. I would like to improve every day. That's one of the main reasons why I decided to put Carl on board again," the four-time Grand Slam winner said.
"Look at Nadal, Federer - you can always improve. You can always become better."
"You can always work out harder in the gym and work out differently. Yeah, you just learn yourself better and better, and more about yourself, and then you keep improving."