Agnieszka Radwanska faced a straight set upset by Na Li – Western & Southern Open 2012
Ranked ninth in the WTA World Rankings, Na Li, gave the top seeded Agnieszka Radwanska a straight sets upset of 6-1, 6-1 at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati on Friday. The Chinese number one defeated the Polish
in one hour and 10 minutes to reach the semis of the coveted WTA Premier 5 event.
Li in an interview told the media, “I do the same in Montreal. Yeah, like same draw, same schedule, as well. Right now I just really want to finish here and then go back to sleep,”
The ninth seeded broke the opening serve of the world number three, Radwanska. The Pole displayed a relatively weak performance initially, with the Chinese quickly clinching the opportunity and bringing up the scores to 3-0.
She managed to break the Polish professional’s serve five times. Radwanska slowly picked momentum and scored her only point of the set in the fourth game. Soon after that, her game abruptly halted and the Chinese progressed by claiming the opening set at 6-1.
In the initial set Radwanska smashed one ace whereas double faulted four times. She had an average first serve rate of 56 percent, bagging 10 of 18 first and one of 14 second deliveries. The Chinese veteran neither managed
to hit any single ace nor committed any double faults. She kept a good first serve percentage of 81 with seven of 13 first and two of three second serve points in the opening set.
The second set followed the exact same pattern as the opener did. However, this time Li served the first game but Radwanska was not able to break. The former world number four gradually transcended her closing lead in the
set, nailing down her un-doubtable win with a 6-1 score.
Li was not able to pull off a single ace nor did she double fault once. Nonetheless, she managed to nudge her breakthrough by her high first serve percentage of 81, converting 17 of 29 first and five of seven second deliveries.
The 23-year-old tennis ace double faulted once at a critical point in the match against her rival. She also exhibited a moderate first serve percentage of 67, pocketing five of 10 and two of five second reply points.
After the match Radwanska told the media, “I think she’s really on fire. She’s really playing great tennis right now.”
Na Li will face a tough competition by the hands of the American veteran, Venus Williams in the semi-finals of the tournament.
Tags: