2011 Australian Open Final Preview: Kim Clijsters vs. Li Na
Australian Open favourite and world number three, Kim Clijsters will meet first time finalist, Li Na in the final of the 2011 Australian Open on 29 January. A recent rising star with the backing of more than one billion people,
Li has made it to her first Grand Slam final at Melbourne Park, taking on the back-from-retirement mother, Clijsters.
Playing each other only two weeks after their last meeting, both players are in prime form making the women’s singles final of the Australian Open one of the most anticipated matchup. The two tennis divas have played each other
six times previously, but this is their first meeting at Melbourne Park. Battling each other on a grand stage is not alien to either of the two, since they first met in the quarterfinal round of the 2006 Wimbledon Championship and then again at the 2009 United
States Open. Emerging victorious on both occasions, Clijsters leads the career head-to-head by 4-2. However, in light of their recent meeting in the final of the 2011 Medibank International, it would not be wise to go by statistics solely. Li was able to do
away with Clijsters in straight sets, despite being ranked eight places below the Belgian, to start the 2011 WTA Tour on a high note.
Li and Clijsters were the only two players to make it into the final four without losing a single set. Therefore, it was only befitting that they moved ahead regardless of being pitted against the top two seeds, Caroline Wozniacki
and Vera Zvonareva.
A veteran at the Grand Slam Down Under and a finalist in 2004, Clijsters returned to the event last week for her ninth appearance. Starting this year with a perfect twin-bagel-sets victory against Dinara Safina, Clijsters made
her way into the quarterfinals moving past Carla Navarro, Alize Cornet and Safina’s compatriot, Ekaterina Makarova, losing only 21 games in eight sets.
Clijsters faced and dismissed 13th seed, Agnieszka Radwanska in straight sets in the quarterfinals setting up a semi-final clash with Zvonareva. Extending her head-to-head lead over the Russian, Clijsters registered
a twin set score of 6-3, 6-3 against Zvonareva to make it into the finals.
Although Clijsters has maintained her no-set-loss record so far in the event, Li, on the other hand, met a bump in an otherwise smooth sailing as she played the great Dane, Wozniacki in the semi-final. Bouncing back from being
one set down and hitting four times the winners, Li shattered Wozniacki’s dream of a maiden title win and became the first Chinese ever to move into a Grand Slam final.
Losing 20 games in eight sets, Li moved past Sofia Arvidsson, Evgeniya Rodina, Barbora Strycova and eighth seed Victoria Azarenka to setup a quarterfinal clash with 30th seed, Andrea Petkovic. Dismissing the German after
a loss of only six games, Li had secured a berth for herself in the final four.
Excited about making it to the finals, Li said, "This is good for me, for my team and good for Chinese tennis. It's a good experience for my whole life, because many players play a long time but never come to the final of a Grand
Slam."
Prediction: Although Clijsters is the favourite to win the singles title, dismissing the Chinese would be extremely unwise. Given her recent form, her victory over the world number one and the
fact that she has already beaten Clijsters once this year, the statistical advantage in Clijsters favour loses its meaning. The match will probably be a three setter with the decider going into a tiebreaker.
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