Na Li (or Li Na if you prefer Chinese names conventions) (photo ©Sascha Grabow) reached the final defeating Ana Konjuh, Belinda Bencic, Lucie Safarova, Ekaterina Makarova, Flavia Pennetta and Eugenie Bouchard. So far she has lost only one set in the third round to Safarova. It’s her third final at the Australian Open after the ones lost in 2011 and 2013.

Dominika Cibulkova reached the final defeating Francesca Schiavone, Stefanie Voegele, Carla Suarez Navarro, Maria Sharapova, Simona Halep and Agnieszka Radwanska. So far she has lost only one set in the fourth round to Sharapova. This is her first ever final in a Grand Slam tournament.

Na Li starts the match returning well and Dominika Cibulkova, immediately under pressure, makes two double faults, the second on a break point, allowing the Chinese to take the lead right at the beginning. In the third game the Slovak offers two more break points but manages to win her service game. Na Li also struggles with her service and in the sixth game she loses it with two consecutive double faults bringing the score on a 3-3 tie. In the ninth game the Chinese has another break point but the Slovak wins her service games. Na Li hits the ball better and in the eleventh game still breaks Cibulkova again, serves for the set but she suffers from the tension and after having a set point she’s broken back. They go to the tie-break, where the Slovak struggles with her service and Na Li exploits it to take a 5-1 lead then wins it 7-3 to conquer the first set.

At the beginning of the second set Dominika Cibulkova is still under pressure and in the second game Na Li breaks her. The Chinese seem to have an edge over her opponend and now is playing really well. In the fourth and sixth game Na Li breaks Cibulkova again to easily win the set 6-0 conquering the and her first title at the Australian Open.

Dominika Cibulkova played an extraordinary tournament, also considering that so far her best result in a Grand Slam was the quarter-finals of the 2008 U.S. Open. Today she can regret not serving well in the first set and it’s a shame that in the second set couldn’t step up her game so she was dominated. She might never have another chance like this one.

Na Li now has experience in top level matches but even today has suffered from the tension. Eventually, though, she managed to win the tie-break in the first set and play well the second set to win her first title at the Australian Open, her second Grand Slam title after the 2011 Roland Garros. She’s about to turn 32 years so she has little time to win tournaments at this level but she can certainly try again.

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