Na Li loses 4 matchpoints against Kim Clijsters. Australian open 2012

Li Video Score: four / 5

NA SUFFERS DRAMATIC DEFEAT

Li Na was defeated in a dramatic encounter with Kim Clijsters which was a replay of last year’s Australian Open final. In the fourth round match, Clijsters took 3 sets to seal the victory, eventually winning 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4. Along the way, the Belgian player twisted an ankle and remarkably defended 4 match points against the Chinese player.

The drama appeared early in the match when Clijsters turned her ankle at 3-3, 30-30. “(Retiring) definitely crossed my mind at some point, but I knew if I could just try to kind of let the medication sink in or, you know, if I could get through the first 20 minutes, half-hour, I think the pain would go away a little bit and then maybe with the adrenalin I could just fly through it,” Clijsters said.

“I’m happy that I didn’t give up.” She made the correct choice, and although the first set was claimed by Li Na, the second set went all the way to a tie-break. The fifth seed stormed into a 6-2 lead, which looked unassailable until Clijsters started chipping away at it. It was soon 6-5, and the whole stadium held as breath as the Belgian sent a precarious drop shot drifting over the net to make it 6-6.

At this point, Clijsters had all the momentum and took the second set, 8-6 in the tie break. “You know, I’m not saying that forehand drop shot was a good choice, but, you know, you make decisions. Luckily, that one turned out okay,” Clijsters said.

Read more »

WTA Sydney – Final 2011 – Kim Clijsters vs Li Na

Li Video clip Rating: five / five