Kim Clijsters wins her first Australian Open
Belgian star, Kim Clijsters, has won the 2011 Australian Open after defeating China’s Li Na in straight sets in the final. Clijsters beat her opponent after a nail biter at Rod Laver Arena with a final score of 3-6, 6-3 and 6-3.
The 27-year-old has now won a second consecutive Grand Slam and with the Aussie Open in the bag she is boosted to the second spot in the world rankings. The Australian Open is the second Grand Slam title she has won since her comeback to professional tennis.
It is also the first win for Clijsters down under, which extends her Grand Slam wins to four.
Her opponent, the seventh seed Li Na, was the first Chinese ever to appear in a Grand Slam final. The then ninth ranked Na was looking for a fairy tale ending to the tournament. Her successful run at the Australian Open had generated immense interest in
China. With her victory over Clijsters, Na was hoping to promote the sport in her own country. She had recently beaten the Belgian to capture the Medibank International Sydney title and was quite confident that she would be able to replicate the feat once
more.
The Chinese was nervous at the start of the game and it looked as if Clijsters would wipe her out convincingly. Li Na, who had not lost a match up to that point, was not going to give up easily.
Clijsters started the match with her typical aggression, grabbing the first nine points of the match and breaking Li Na’s serve early. The Chinese rose to the challenge immediately and adjusted her game, breaking Clijsters’ serve twice and winning the set.
Even though she lost the first set, Clijsters did not hesitate in experimenting aggressive shots.
“I tried to do things differently to break her rhythm a little bit and make her think a little bit more," said Clijsters, "I mixed it up a little bit, put some slices in, also hit a few higher shots and it made her make some unforced errors.”
A double fault from Li Na at the start of the second set gave Clijsters the opportunity she wanted. The Belgians strategy was working and Na started making errors repeatedly in the second set. Na was belted with five straight games by Clijsters, who won
the second set 6-3.
With one set each, both women stepped into the decider. Li Na was crumbling under the pressure and was not able to bring her unforced errors under control. She provided another breaking opportunity to her opponent by hitting a double fault and a purposeless
backhand in the fourth game of the match. Kim took the initiative and held her serve twice in the set. Eventually, a wayward shot hiccupped from Na’s racket and sealed the victory for the Belgian. Clijsters won the last set by 6-3.
Clijsters was overwhelmed by her first Aussie Open victory and immediately burst into tears. She had nearly won the Australian Open way back in 2004, when she lost to Justine Henin in the final at Melbourne Park. After six long years, the graceful Belgian
had won the Grand Slam of Asia Pacific.
“Li Na was definitely a very tough competitor,” she praised her opponent in her post-match comments, “She really brought it to me at the start of the rallies. I was on the back foot and leaning back - I don't like that.”
Kim Clijsters also hinted to the press that 2011 could be her last full year in professional tennis and her current appearance at Melbourne Park is going to be the last of her career.
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