Li Na is champion of Australia at last. She already had the adoration of the people after two visits to the deciding match of the women's championship and she sealed the love affair with a 7-6 (3), 6-0 beating of Dominika Cibulkova in the final.
The superstar of women's tennis in China will have held an estimated TV audience of 70 million enthralled, and the potential for the sport to spread across the biggest market in the world is again invigorated. The figures of growth have yet to convince, but Li is doing her bit. The first set went to a tie-break and took an hour and 20 minutes. Cibulkova could not win a game in the second, which didn't quite last half an hour.
Cibulkova looked as if she might be swamped at the beginning but got ahead in the score in the seventh game after half an hour, at just the moment when Li dispatched her ever-smiling husband, Jiang Shan (whom she calls Dennis, to rhyme with tennis) to the stringing room to fix her racket. He no doubt marked her down for a ticking off over that one, later.
It did seem as if the former two-time finalist was looking for excuses as her game faltered, however, as her forehand let her down under pressure and Cibulkova's confidence – already high – grew by the point.
Throughout the tournament, the Slovak, ranked 24 in the world, has been an effervescent ball of energy, punching her shots hard and direct from all parts of the court – and from a vantage point of just 5ft 3in. She was not only the smallest player in the women's draw; she was bidding to become the shortest winner of a major in the game's history.
Cibulkova does not rely on her height for her stature, though. She brought muscle and purpose to her tennis that was way too strong for the sophisticated game fifth seed Agnieszka Radwanska, and won their semi-final with ridiculous ease, 6-1, 6-2.
None of the odds favoured her: as with Stanislas Wawrinka's 0-12 mark against Rafael Nadal in the men's final, Cibulkova had not taken a set off Li in their four matches. But, whatever the perception, her pedigree and form are sound, and she had the comfort of knowing her place on the rankings board was guaranteed at 13 by just making the final.
It was Li who came under pressure first in the opening set, having to ace to stay in the set at 5-5. There was not much Cibulkova could do about that one, but there was plenty Li could do about her ground strokes, 22 of which up to that point had gone awry without significant influence from her opponent.
The crowd seemed to slightly favour the Chinese veteran, whose quirkiness on-court and in interviews has made her a favourite since she announced her arrival in the 2011 final, and the stadium rose as one when Cibulkova netted a backhand and Li served for the set at 6-5. Cibulkova – brave with a rare drop shot – fought to break point, needed a second one to level after an exchange of points – and was relieved when her opponent netted a backhand for 6-6, and a tie-break. Li wrapped it up 7-3 in an engaging struggle.
Dramatically, the fight that had sustained Cibulkova through the tight first set drained from her racket in a quick second session as Li found another level. She raced to 5-0 as the Slovak's game unravelled under pressure, and the end shocked the underdog, who was powerless to respond.
Having gifted Cibulkova 25 unforced errors in the first set, Li found some discipline down the straight and barely gave her bewildered opponent a look. Cibulkova saved one championship point at 15-40 and 0-5 down, but an overcooked forehand ended the agony for her. It was a curious curtailment to what had earlier promised to be a solid battle.
Li Na surges to Australian Open title after win over Dominika Cibulkova | Sport | The Observer
The superstar of women's tennis in China will have held an estimated TV audience of 70 million enthralled, and the potential for the sport to spread across the biggest market in the world is again invigorated. The figures of growth have yet to convince, but Li is doing her bit. The first set went to a tie-break and took an hour and 20 minutes. Cibulkova could not win a game in the second, which didn't quite last half an hour.
Cibulkova looked as if she might be swamped at the beginning but got ahead in the score in the seventh game after half an hour, at just the moment when Li dispatched her ever-smiling husband, Jiang Shan (whom she calls Dennis, to rhyme with tennis) to the stringing room to fix her racket. He no doubt marked her down for a ticking off over that one, later.
It did seem as if the former two-time finalist was looking for excuses as her game faltered, however, as her forehand let her down under pressure and Cibulkova's confidence – already high – grew by the point.
Throughout the tournament, the Slovak, ranked 24 in the world, has been an effervescent ball of energy, punching her shots hard and direct from all parts of the court – and from a vantage point of just 5ft 3in. She was not only the smallest player in the women's draw; she was bidding to become the shortest winner of a major in the game's history.
Cibulkova does not rely on her height for her stature, though. She brought muscle and purpose to her tennis that was way too strong for the sophisticated game fifth seed Agnieszka Radwanska, and won their semi-final with ridiculous ease, 6-1, 6-2.
None of the odds favoured her: as with Stanislas Wawrinka's 0-12 mark against Rafael Nadal in the men's final, Cibulkova had not taken a set off Li in their four matches. But, whatever the perception, her pedigree and form are sound, and she had the comfort of knowing her place on the rankings board was guaranteed at 13 by just making the final.
It was Li who came under pressure first in the opening set, having to ace to stay in the set at 5-5. There was not much Cibulkova could do about that one, but there was plenty Li could do about her ground strokes, 22 of which up to that point had gone awry without significant influence from her opponent.
The crowd seemed to slightly favour the Chinese veteran, whose quirkiness on-court and in interviews has made her a favourite since she announced her arrival in the 2011 final, and the stadium rose as one when Cibulkova netted a backhand and Li served for the set at 6-5. Cibulkova – brave with a rare drop shot – fought to break point, needed a second one to level after an exchange of points – and was relieved when her opponent netted a backhand for 6-6, and a tie-break. Li wrapped it up 7-3 in an engaging struggle.
Dramatically, the fight that had sustained Cibulkova through the tight first set drained from her racket in a quick second session as Li found another level. She raced to 5-0 as the Slovak's game unravelled under pressure, and the end shocked the underdog, who was powerless to respond.
Having gifted Cibulkova 25 unforced errors in the first set, Li found some discipline down the straight and barely gave her bewildered opponent a look. Cibulkova saved one championship point at 15-40 and 0-5 down, but an overcooked forehand ended the agony for her. It was a curious curtailment to what had earlier promised to be a solid battle.
Li Na surges to Australian Open title after win over Dominika Cibulkova | Sport | The Observer
