2011 Mutua Madrid Open: Li Na vs. Roberta Vinci – Preview
Chinese tennis star Li Na is all set to take on Italian Roberta Vinci on Thursday in the third round match at the 2011 Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open in Spain.
Li Na made quick work of Czech Iveta Benesova 6-1, 6-4 in the second round play. In her opening match her, Li defeated Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 6-4, 7-6 (6). The 29-year-old seemed to have taken a lot of confidence from her
recent performances on the tour as she is timing the tennis ball really well. With her positive and aggressive approach she has created a lot of problems for her opponents throughout the competition.
The running season got off to a great start for the Chinese tennis-pro. In her first WTA tournament of the year at Sydney she defeated number three seed Kim Clijsters in the final to lift her fourth WTA title. She stunned top seeded
Caroline Wozniacki to reach the finals at the 2011 Australian Open. In the final she was outclassed by the Belgian Kim Clijsters. However, since then she has not been able to find her peak form and experienced early round losses at several WTA events. Ranked
6th in the world, Li will be hoping to restore her lost pride by making it to the final stages at Madrid Open.
Li’s opponent, Roberta Vinci is ranked 37th in the world. Vinci eased past Russian Alisa Kleybanova 6-2, 6-2 to reach the third at the red clay courts tournament. In her opening clash against Olga Govortsova of Belarus,
she required only an hour and four minutes in dispatching her opponent 6-4, 6-0. The Italian tennis-pro is yet to drop a set in the tournament and has a real chance of beating her Chinese opponent if she can continue her good form.
Vinci had her fair share of success in the year 2011. She won her sixth WTA title of her career at Hobart defeating compatriot Sara Errani in the final. Her impressive run on the tour continued at Pattaya City as well where she
reached the semi-final. Vinci claimed her second WTA title of the season at Barcelona just over a week ago when she defeated Czech Lucie Hradecka in the final.
Vinci is a strong baseliner and possesses a wonderful backhand shot which she can use effectively to down her opponent. Li Na on the other hand has a very well directed and accurate serve. Although Li Na has given significant results
in this season, she will face a tough challenger from Vinci who seems to have a special liking for the red surface.
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