BRISBANE, Australia — Former No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo hopes to be ready for the Australian Open despite withdrawing from her Brisbane International semifinal with a thigh injury Friday, putting fellow Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli into the title match.

The fifth-seeded Mauresmo, who upset top-seeded Ana Ivanovic in straight sets in a day earlier, was trailing 4-0 in the opening set when she called for a trainer during her third service game. She received treatment to her left thigh and lower back and retired without playing another point.

"Even though it's frustrating and it's not how you want to end a tournament, I guess it's more reasonable to make sure I'm 100 percent for Melbourne," she said.

Mauresmo was a doubtful starter for the Sydney International next week, her last scheduled tuneup event for the Australian Open, which starts Jan. 19

The 29-year-old Mauresmo, the 2006 Australian Open and Wimbledon champion, has had a string of injuries over the past two years that slipped her ranking to 24th. She said she had a similar thigh problem only six months before.

"I've been doing everything I can to avoid these kinds of moments. I just hope it's not too bad and I can be good for Melbourne," said Mauresmo, who planned to have an MRI scan on Saturday to determine the full extent of the problem. "At worst I'd hope that nine days ... would be enough to make it feel much better."

The third-seeded Bartoli, a surprise Wimbledon finalist in 2007, will play second-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in Saturday's final. Azarenka beat Sara Errani of Italy 6-3, 6-1 in the other semifinal Friday.

In men's play at the joint ATP-WTA tournament, Radak Stepanek of the Czech Republic beat Sweden's Robin Soderling 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 to reach the semifinals.

His opponent will be determined by the later quarterfinal at Pat Rafter Arena between French pair Richard Gasquet and No. 2 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.