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Li Na yesterday defeated 19-year-old Canadian sensation Eugenia Bouchard 6-2, 6-4 to advance to the finals of the 2014 Australian Open where she will face surprise opponent Dominika Cibulkova who destroyed World No. 5 Agnieszka Radwanska 6-1, 6-2.
This will be Li's second straight Australian Open finals appearance and her third in four years. Last year she lost to Victoria Azarenka after several falls to the court. In 2011 she lost to Kim Clijisters.
"Last time was a little bit tough," Li said. "I will try this time to make one more step."
Ranked No.4 in the world and seeded fourth in the tournament, Li was the highest ranked player and only major winner left in the semi-finals. Her hands will be full in the final however, as Cibulkova though ranked only 24th in the world, was able to defeat the No. 3 seed Maria Sharapova, the No. 11 seed Simona Halep and Radwanska.
The match against Bouchard was the first semi-final of the day. Li Na raced to a 5-0 lead in the first set before Bouchard was able to maintain her own service game while breaking Li. Li was able to recover momentum and regain the advantage, however, and closed out the set in the 34th minute.
The second set was not nearly as easy for Li Na. In an evenly played set, Bouchard, who seemed to gain confidence from the large number of supporters in the audience, broke Li Na twice before surrendering the lead at 4-3. Both kept serve over the next two games to go 5-4.
The last game included a wild rally with Bouchard hitting a ball that dribbled over the net for a seeming winner before Li Na raced in to close out the match with a backhand cross-court shot that left Bouchard shaking her head.
