Li Na clinches first Australian Open title
( Agencies )
MELBOURNE - China's Li Na overcame an attack of nerves and weathered a feisty challenge from Dominika Cibulkova before roaring to a 7-6 (7-3) 6-0 victory to win her first Australian Open title on Saturday.
Heartbroken as runner-up last year and in 2011, the 31-year-old struggled on serve and battled an errant forehand in a tight first set, before finding her range in devastating fashion to become the oldest woman to win at Melbourne Park.
Li Na of China celebrates defeating Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia in their women's singles final match at the Australian Open 2014 tennis tournament in Melbourne January 25, 2014. [Photo/Agencies]
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Cibulkova gave up two match-points when the Slovakian pushed a backhand long and saved one of them when Li did likewise, but the 20th seed crumbled on the second to give the Chinese her second grand slam title after winning the 2011 French Open.
How many more Grand Slam titles do you think Li Na will win in the future?
Three or more
Asia's first grand slam singles winner, Li raised her arms in triumph and after shaking hands with her opponent, went straight to her section of the players' box to embrace her coach Carlos Rodriguez and members of her entourage.
"Finally I got her (trophy), last two times was very close," the beaming fourth seed said at the trophy ceremony.
"Congrats to Dominika, she had a great tournament. Max my agent, makes me rich, thank you. Thanks for Carlos, who always believed I could do it. We worked so hard in the winter.
"Thanks to my husband, now so famous in China, (my) hitting partner, fixes the drinks, fixes the racquets... You do a lot a lot of jobs. Thanks a lot, you are a nice guy. You were lucky to find me."
The pint-sized Cibulkova, who won plenty of admirers at Melbourne Park after upsetting Maria Sharapova and Agnieszka Radwanska on her way to the final, scrambled hard but was simply overpowered by Li's crunching groundstrokes in the second set.
"These were just the most fantastic two weeks of my life and I think I'm going to cry," the 24-year-old said.
"I would like to congratulate Li Na, she had a fantastic tournament, she deserves to be here as a winner."
FOUND RANGE
After a nervous start for both players, Li was the first to settle and unleashed a blistering backhand down the line to gain a break point in the opening game against her feisty opponent, who promptly double-faulted on the next point.
Under pressure from the counter-punching Cibulkova, Li notched two double-faults in a row to be broken back in the sixth game and the Slovakian then held with a big serve to move 4-3 ahead.
Li broke Cibulkova for a second time in the 11th game and had a set point on serve at 6-5 but the 20th seed survived to take the opener into a tiebreaker.
The temperamental Chinese found her range in time to march to a 5-1 lead in the tiebreak but Cibulkova marshalled her defences with aplomb, scrambling to chase down everything and pulled back to 5-3.
Li then blasted a huge return to earn three more set points but only needed one of them when Cibulkova netted a backhand.
Once the first set was in the bag, Li appeared far more at ease and wound up a huge forehand down the line to bring up an early break point in the second and was soon 2-0 ahead when Cibulkova pushed long.
Growing in confidence, Li began to swing at everything and broke Cibulkova again to lead 4-0 before completing an emphatic victory in her third attempt at Melbourne Park, the grand slam venue she has long described as her favourite.
Li Na's route to the Final
Age is not a problem
Nearing her 32nd birthday, Chinese star's sparkling showing in Istanbul could foreshadow greater glory, writes AFP.
Li Na's superb performance in getting to the final of the season-ending WTA Championships was an eye-opener for those who suggested her best was behind her.
China's tennis superstar Li Na, who defied the age skeptics and delivered world-class performance in 2013, aims to sharpen her game even further in the new year.
And she had a good start with victory in the year's opening tournament.
Quotable Li Na
Disillusionment with negative reporting in her home media nearly saw Li Na give up the game last year in the wake of her early French Open exit, the Chinese No 1 said at the 2014 Australian Open.
Q. How was the match today?
LI NA: How was the match? Pretty good. At least I win the match, so...
Yeah, I think beginning of the match I play very well. Second set was a little bit tight because I was feeling, yeah, one set in target. Is more like pretty feeling one feet already in the final.
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Most Popular10 photos & Serena Williams poses with the Daphne Akhurst trophy after beating Maria Sharapova in the Australian Open final. Hide Caption 1 of 10 10 photos & The two haven't always seen eye to eye but there was a warm handshake after the gripping 6-3 7-6 (5) affair. Hide Caption 2 of 10 10 photos & Williams drew first blood and set the tone by breaking in the first game. It was the worst start for Sharapova, who had lost 15 in a row to Williams. Hide Caption 3 of 10 10 photos & There was a 12-minute delay in the first set due to rain. Hide Caption 4 of 10 10 photos & Afterwards, organizers used the roof. It seemed to help Williams' already potent serve. Hide Caption 5 of 10 10 photos & When Williams won the first set, it spelled trouble for Sharapova. Hide Caption 6 of 10 10 photos & But as is her way, Sharapova didn't throw in the towel in the second set. Hide Caption 7 of 10 10 photos & She floored Williams after a punishing rally. Hide Caption 8 of 10 10 photos & Sharapova saved two match points with big forehands. Hide Caption 9 of 10 10 photos & But on a third match point, Sharapova could do nothing since Williams was serving. She hit an ace and later leaped in celebration. Hide Caption 10 of 10Serena Williams beats Maria Sharapova in the Australian Open final Williams prevails 6-3 7-6 to beat Sharapova for the 16th straight timeWilliams wins a 19th major and sixth title at Melbourne Park and
(CNN)She may have been ill but that didn't stop Serena Williams from claiming a 19th grand slam title Saturday. The world No. 1 beat second-ranked Maria Sharapova 6-3 7-6 (5) in the Australian Open final to move into sole possession of second place in grand slams won in the Open Era behind Steffi Graf's 22. And on this form, matching Graf -- or surpassing the German -- shouldn't be discounted even if Williams turns 34 in September. "I would love to get to 22," Williams told reporters. "But I have to get to 20 first and then I have to get to 21. There's so many wonderful young players coming up, so it will be a very big task." The American defeated her Russian rival for the 16th straight time, although Sharapova ensured it was a gripping contest from start to finish. JUST WATCHEDMUST WATCH 04:12
PLAY VIDEOIndeed the finale between two of the most recognizable athletes in the world produced some riveting rallies, which hasn't always been the case when they've played due to Williams' superiority.
"It's frustrating to be the one going home with the small trophy," Sharapova told reporters. "But I do love the battle. "I love high-quality tennis. I love being part of it. It's a lot better than watching it on TV."A gutsy Sharapova saved match points in two different games with punishing forehands, both players took turns uttering shouts of "come on" -- Williams was penalized in the second set for yelling out in celebration when a point wasn't over -- and despite not being fully fit, Williams covered the court with aplomb. A 12-minute rain delay in the first set -- during which Williams vomited off court -- forced organizers to close the roof on Rod Laver Arena and with conditions subsequently perfect for serving, it boosted Williams' already potent delivery. "I also started serving better in the second set because I knew if I wasn't having my ground strokes where I wanted them to be, I knew I could serve it out," Williams said. Fifteen of her 18 aces, including one to wrap up the nearly two-hour contest, came in the second. "When the games on her serve were 30-all, 40-30 or 15-30 a few times, she came up with really great serves," Sharapova said. "There's a few, just very limited amount of players that serve in that speed range as she does consistently. "She finds the corners extremely well."Williams, who suffered from a fever and cough all this week, set the tone by breaking in the first game. She took control of the first by winning six straight points following the rain delay to build a 5-2 advantage. But Sharapova, one of the game's best competitors, didn't melt in the second set. She matched and even surpassed Williams from the baseline. JUST WATCHEDMUST WATCH 01:24
PLAY VIDEOSharapova saved one match point trailing 5-4 and the other at 4-6 in the tiebreak after saving two match points in the second round. Another escape act wasn't on the cards, however. With Williams finally holding match point on her own serve, she thought she hit an ace out wide. A let was called. No matter. She reloaded and hit an almost identical serve to see off Sharapova. The pair haven't always gotten along -- Sharapova's current boyfriend, men's pro Grigor Dimitrov, is believed to have formerly dated Williams -- but a warm handshake ensued. Williams maintained her record of never losing past the quarterfinals in Melbourne, improving to 12-0. Besides suffering another defeat to Williams, Sharapova failed in her bid for a sixth major and first outside Roland Garros in seven years.
"I haven't beaten her in a really long time but I love every time I step on the court to play against her because she's been the best and as a tennis player you want to play against the best," Sharapova said. "I was almost down and out in the second round and I feel like I gave myself a second life in this tournament and gave myself an opportunity. It wasn't quite enough today but I'm proud of my effort and couple of weeks here." In Sunday's men's final, top-seed Novak Djokovic faces sixth-seed Andy Murray. Like Williams, four-time winner Djokovic has never been beaten at Melbourne Park in a semifinal or final.我的淘金币：363最少可抵3.63元
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