The Semifinals for the 2010 Australian Open have been set, pitting No. 1 Serena Williams of the USA against No. 16 Na Li of China. Williams leads their head-to-head match-ups 3-1. This is William’s 4th appearance in the Semifinals of the Australian Open. Each time she made the Semifinals, she has gone on to win the championship. This will be Na Li’s first appearance in the Semifinals of any Grand Slam, and was only her 3rd appearance in a Quarterfinal.
Williams is trying to break the even-numbered-year jinx. She has won the Australian Open in odd numbered years four times, beginning in 2003, then in 2005, 2007 and 2009. In 2004 she didn’t play in this tournament. In 2006 she made the 3rd round, in 2008 the Quarterfinals. She almost fell to the jinx again this year in her last match against Victoria Azarenka, but after being down a set and down 0-4 in the 2nd, she managed one of her famous comebacks to pull it out in 3 sets.
There is a possibility of an all-China Final, if Li and Zheng are both successful in their matches. That would be quite a match up considering this is the first year any woman from China has made it into the Semifinals of the Australian Open. Now there are two.
The other Semifinal match will see unseeded Jie Zheng of China go up against unseeded Justine Henin of Belgium. Their match insures that an unseeded player will be in the Final. Henin leads 1-0 in head-to-head matches with Zheng.
Henin is trying to show the world she is back as she competes in her first Grand Slam after coming out of retirement. So far she has shown that she is the real deal. This is only her 3rd appearance in the Semifinals here. Henin is a 6-time Grand Slam winner, only one of those at the Australian Open back in 2004, a year Serena Williams did not play.
This is Zheng’s second appearance in a Semifinal, the other at Wimbledon in 2008. She will be seeking her first appearance in a Final of any Grand Slam.
