Li wins Australian Open for second major
Print Edition
China’s Li Na battled past Dominika Cibulkova at the Australian Open yesterday to storm to her second grand slam title, giving another huge boost to Asian tennis and earning glowing praise in her home country.
The 31-year-old fourth seed’s 7-6 (3), 6-0 win crowned her the champion on her third attempt after losing the 2011 and 2013 finals, adding to the French Open title she won three years ago.
“Finally I got her,” Li said as she put a hand on the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup for the first time. “Last two times was very close.”
In doing so, she became the oldest winner of the women’s title, surpassing Margaret Court who was 30 when she became champion in 1973.
Li also joins an exclusive list of just seven other players to win a grand slam at 30-plus, with her name now in the history books alongside greats such as Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert and Serena Williams.
While it was Li’s fourth Grand Slam final, it was the first for Cibulkova and that crucial experience was put to good use to take out the Slovak after a tight first set lasting 70 minutes.
“I would like to say age is nothing. I can still win a grand slam,” Li said. “So I’m pretty happy about my age. I got more experience on the court.”
The win pushes her one place higher in the world rankings to three, just 11 points adrift of Victoria Azarenka in second place behind Serena Williams.
It was a gutsy effort by the Chinese star, who overcame the pressure of having lost twice.
She won on the Cibulkova serve when the Slovak sent a forehand long, raising her arms in celebration.
Meanwhile, Lukasz Kubot and Robert Lindstedt won the Australian Open men’s doubles title yesterday with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Eric Butorac and Raven Klaasen.
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