Serena Williams vs. Li Na: Semi-Final Preview - Internazionali BNL d'Italia 2012
Former world number one, Serena Williams, will lock horns with the last season's French Open champion, Li Na, in the semi-final of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia. The match will be played at red clay courts of Rome, Italy, on
Saturday afternoon.
Putting some light at the history of the two players, the American tennis ace has trounced the Chinese number one on five different occurrences and lost just once during the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2008 in Stuttgart, Germany.
The recent four battles have been won by the sixth ranked American who looks to be in devastating form having defeated the number one Belarusian, Victoria Azarenka, in the final of the Mutua Madrid Open to claim her second title
of the running year.
Li, on the other hand, has not been able to explore her prolific run of form this year and never looked like a Grand Slam champion at any platform. Despite being the reining French Open champion, clay court is not her favourite
surface and therefore all the odds rest with the 30-year-old American.
Last battle between the two athletes was played almost two years ago in quarter-final of the Wimbledon. So, it has been quite some time since that clash and there has been a lot of improvement in the game style of both players.
Li, 30-year-old, will not bow down easily especially after her majestic performance in the tournament. She is yet to lose a set whereas Williams was tested by the likes of the Russian tennis ace, Nadia Petrova, in the second round
and forced the American to dig deep into the third set to claim the victory.
Stakes are high at both sides. Williams is having a good comeback year and wants to stamp her authority as an intimidating character. Li is going to start her title defence in a week’s time at Paris and therefore needs to regain
some confidence by winning her maiden title before that. Both players have an ability to oust each other and it will be an eye-startling encounter to say the least.
An interesting fact is that the two veterans have not faced each other on clay courts before so it will be interesting to see how they adjust to the situation and try to create an early impact into the match. Williams will look
to smash in those fiery serves that she is known for and the Chinese superstar will have to extract her best defensive play if she wants to have any chances of winning the encounter.
The battle will be tough; if the ninth ranked Chinese is able to pass through the initial onslaught of her competitor, there is a possibility of an upset. However, if she fails to handle the pressure and the pace of the serves
of her rival then I’m afraid, Williams will just run away with the show. So, the starting phase of the match is very vital in separating the winner from the loser.
My pick is definitely the American number one, Serena Williams.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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