The 9th time was a charm for Kim Clijsters of Belgium as she claimed her first Australian Open Championship over tough competitor Na Li of China at Melbourne.
It took a new decade, as Clijsters had played eight times from 2000 to 2010. Finally in 2011 she was able to accomplish the feat, winning a hard-fought 3-setter 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. Clijsters had reached the final only once before in 2004, and managed only the 3rd round last year.
It was Clijsters’ 4th career Grand Slam singles title. The other three have all been at the U.S. Open, three in a row – 2005, 2009, 2010. She did not play in the U.S. Open from 2006-2008.
The win for 27-year-old Clijsters ended an 11-match winning streak by 28-year-old Li. Clijsters scored 98 points to Li’s 84. Both played aggressively, with Clijsters hitting 22 winners (1 ace) with 26 unforced errors (3 double faults). Li hit 24 winners (1 ace), but with 40 errors (4 DFs). Clijsters scored on 7 of 17 break point opportunities she reached against Li, while Li won 6 of her 12 break points against Clijsters.
Kim said: “
“After that first set, like, ‘What can I do differently so I can maybe break her rhythm a little bit, try to make her think out there a little bit more?’ So I tried to mix it up a little bit, put some slices in, also hit a few higher shots that, kind of just made her make some unforced errors.”
Li said: “I think I play great tennis. [Kim played] better than me. After the match, back to the locker room, I make joke, ‘Tennis should only play one set. [laughter] I still happy what I do today.”
Clijsters now leads their head-to-head series 5-2.
