Kim Clijsters insisted today she will not be under-estimating her shock opponent in the Eastbourne final, Russian qualifier Vera Douchevina.

The Belgian former world No.1 is an overwhelming favourite to land the Hastings Direct title after knocking out defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in yesterday's semi-finals.

Cautious Clijsters refuses to take for granted the 24th tournament victory of her career against the little-known Douchevina, who humbled out-of-sorts top seed Amelie Mauresmo in round two.

The seventh seed said: "You don't think Oh, she's a qualifier'. You focus on what you have to do.

"She has beaten a lot of good players to get this far. She hits the ball really flat, she moves well and hits the forehand on the run well."

Clijsters, 22, enjoyed the overdue sunshine at Devonshire Park yesterday as she prevailed in three sets of brutal hitting against her close friend Kuznetsova. She edged past the powerful Russian youngster 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in 1hr 43mins.

There were no fewer than nine breaks of serve in the first two sets of a match notable for ferocious striking from the baseline by both players, with occasional touches of finesse.

Clijsters, broken to love twice in a row in the second set, said: "We were both hitting the ball pretty hard. The first rally we played was pretty good and I had a good feeling out there.

"In the second set my forehand went off a little bit, but I got it back in the third set.

"We've always had tough matches when we play each other. It's good to have these kind of matches, particularly before a Grand Slam. Even if I had lost it would still have been a good experience to take into Wimbledon."

Clijsters missed the grass court season last year with a wrist injury. Her build-up to the French Open, where she was beaten by world No.1 Lindsay Davenport, was hampered by knee trouble.

"I'm very happy I've had the amount of matches I've had here," Clijsters said. "Leading up to the French Open I didn't really have a good preparation."

Kuznetsova, a daunting opponent for British wild card Rebecca Llewellyn in the first round at Wimbledon next week, has no intention of changing her all-or-nothing approach.

"I always play like this," said the 19-year-old. "I should make fewer unforced errors, but that is because I lose my concentration and that will get better with experience."

Douchevina was on the verge of defeat in a gruelling semi-final against another qualifier, Roberta Vinci.

The Italian served for the match at 5-4 in the second set, but the Muscovite fought back to win 2-6, 7-6, 6-3.