Li Na slides past Shuai Peng into the final showdown – Shenzhen Open 2013
In an all-Chinese contest, top seed Li Na trashed the 26-year-old compatriot Shuai Peng in just 73 minutes to book a berth in the final of the Shenzhen Open on Friday. She scuttled past her rival in straight sets 6-4, 6-0; hardly
facing any sort of competition from her rival. It was her fifth head-to-head win against Peng who has just one win against the former French Open Champion.
World number seven, Li, was under the cosh at the start of the match and committed two double-faults at the critical stage of the opening game that cost her breakpoint in the end. She struggled hard to equalise the scores in the
following game but couldn’t break her competitor’s serve in a game that featured five deuces.
However, the tables were turned upon the 40th ranked Peng in the sixth game when she was powered down after a tight fight. The scores were tied at 3-3. Li regrouped and registered a tight serve hold to stamp her authority.
The 26-year-old Chinese was first time trailing in the match at that moment and the scoreboard pressure wasn’t absorbed her. She gifted another breakpoint to her rival in the eighth game. Both players traded breakthroughs in the
last two games of the final set that ended the first phase of the thrilling contest in the favour of the 30-year-old Li.
Spectators in the arena expected another gruelling battle in the second phase but the 2011 French Open Champion gunned down her opponent in just a fraction over 20 minutes that was enabled her to register a bagel in the semi-final
contest.
Peng dropped a breakpoint in the second game and went down to a trail of 0-3. However, the onslaught didn’t end there; Li continued to bamboozle the compatriot with her guile and placement. She strangled Peng completely; didn’t
allow her to free her arms and play her natural game.
The Chinese superstar will lock horns against the 28th ranked Czech age-fellow, Klara Zakopalova, in the final showdown of the event on Saturday. It will be a thrilling contest considering the sublime run of form displayed
by the fifth seed Czech in Shenzhen.
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