2011 Medibank International Sydney: Li Na upsets Kim Clijsters for her first premier title
The 28-year-old Li Na of China won the 2011 Medibank International Sydney title after getting the better of world number three Kim Clijsters, in the finals on Friday. The match score was 7-6 (3), 6-3 and the battle lasted for a
time period of ninety minutes.
The Chinese, as a result of this victory, has also registered her name as the first ever player from her country to pick up a premier crown on the WTA tour. She played some impressive tennis to bounce back in the opening set and
then never looked back to seal win in the end.
Clijsters, who came into the title battle as the clear favourite to win the crown, started off strongly by securing a lead of 5-0. However, Li after taking some time did well to win five games in a row to level it all at 5-5. She
next broke her Belgian foe during the sixth game of the opening set to force it to tie breaker and thus clinched the set at 7-6.
In the decisive set, both the contenders exchanged breaks during the start however, it was Li who won the decisive break to secure a lead of 3-1. She then maintained her dominance till the end and thus wrapped the second set at
6-3.
Clijsters, who will now head to the Australian Open as the third seed, as a result of this loss, missed the opportunity of reaching the second spot in the world. Had she won the title battle, the 2010 US Open winner would have
jumped back to number two on the tour.
As far as Li is concerned, this crown will definitely act as a huge confidence booster for the Chinese ahead of the Australian open, where last year she reached the semi-final round before eventually bundling out of the event.
In the men’s side, Gilles Simon got the better of his third seed opponent Ernests Gulbis in two sets to make his way into the finals on Friday. The score line was 7-6 (7-1), 6-0.
Gilles, as a result of this win, will meet Serbian Viktor Troicki in the title battle on Saturday. Viktor got past Florian Mayer 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) to confirm his final berth.
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