China's top tennis player Li Na beats Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 7-5 6-3 in their women's singles quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on Tuesday, reaching her first Grand Slam semifinals after the 2011 French Open triumph.
Six-seeded Li wore down Radwanska with a barrage of power-hitting to beat the fourth seed in straight sets and advance to her third semifinal at the Australian Open.
The in-form Chinese overcame her customary slow start to edge the Pole in a tight first set and after trailing 2-0 in the second, reeled off five straight games to march to the brink of victory in bright sunshine at Rod Laver Arena.
Li survived a late wobble conceding two break points when serving for the match, but reeled off five straight points to seal it after 102 minutes when Radwanska pushed a forehand long.
Li, runner-up to Kim Clijsters in 2011, will face the winner of the match between second seed Maria Sharapova and fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova for a place in the final.
Li Na of China hits a return to Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland during their women's singles quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Jan 22, 2013. [Photo/Agencies] |
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