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World No.16 Na Li of China has booked a place in the quarter-finals of Australian Open 2010 for the first time, knocking out fourth seed Caroline Wozniacki in an impressive 6-4 6-3 victory at Hisense Arena on Monday. Li is the second Chinese player to make the quarter-finals joining fellow compatriot Jie Zheng in the final eight.
Li, who defeated Wozniacki a fortnight ago in Sydney, needed one hour and 38 minutes to down the Dane, who had not dropped a set in the first three rounds at Melbourne Park.
Wozniacki looked dangerous in the opening game of the first set, where she earned three break-point opportunities on Li’s serve. The Chinese saved all three, making her Danish opponent work hard from side to side across the baseline.
Even though Wozniacki chased down everything Li threw at her, the 17th-ranked Li managed to hold, firing a powerful 160km/h serve which Wozniacki had trouble returning.
Li took this momentum into the next game, breaking the Dane’s serve after Wozniacki handed the Chinese a 2-0 lead with a double fault. But the 19-year-old quickly responded, breaking Li immediately with a deep forehand winner down the line. Wozniacki went on to win the next three games in jumping to a 4-2 lead.
Wozniacki looked to have the set under complete control as she pounced on Li’s rising unforced count. But the Dane suddenly lost her radar as Li forced her way back into the set, winning four consecutive games en route to snatching the first set 6-4 in 50 minutes.
The fourth seed had no answers for Li, who kept delivering solid groundstrokes and impressive winners past her younger opponent as she sprinted to a 2-0 lead in the second set.
In the third game, Wozniacki started to find some form as she broke after Li dumped a forehand into the net.
After receiving treatment on her right leg after the fourth game, a heavily-bandaged Wozniacki piled pressure on Li’s serve, again breaking her for a chance to level the scores at 3-3. But the Dane could not manage to back this up as Li broke back immediately, edging to a 4-2 lead.
Li went on to break the Dane one last time before she closed out the match 6-3 following a wide forehand from Wozniacki.
After the match, Wozniacki said her leg injury in no way affected the result.
“It’s okay. I mean, I just felt it a little bit. I felt it was just better to protect it just in case, but it's okay. It didn't affect the score at the end,” she said.
“I had my chances, especially in the first set leading all the time. Had my chance for 5‑2. I didn't take it. Then she started well with the new balls. Against her, you need to just play on your highest level the whole match through and keep concentrated and keep a lot of balls in play.”
Li, who withdrew from Australian Open 2009 due to a knee injury, will meet American sixth seed Venus Williams in the next round. The pair have only played once before, a contest which Li won 7-5 7-5 at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
“I don't really remember because it was one-and-a-half years (ago) already,” Li said.
“Yeah, so I know the match. I mean, it was good experience for me, for my tennis, also.
But I just want to forget … I didn't want always think about the last match. I want to looking forward.”
Fast facts
- Li hit 21 winners while Wozniacki only managed three.
- Li made 34 unforced errors, 12 more than Wozniacki.
- Wozniacki’s fastest serve was 173km/h, 11km/h faster than her opponent.
- Li converted seven of her 10 break point chances, while Wozniacki was 5-for-12 on break point opportunities.
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