Victoria Azarenka overcome an often hostile crowd to win back-to-back Australian Open titles, beating Li Na 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in a dramatic final on Saturday that contained a break for fireworks, two medical timeouts and a nasty fall to the court by Li.
The Chinese star first tumbled to the court after twisting her left ankle, and had it taped after falling in the fifth game of the second set.
On the first point after a 10-minute pause in the third set while fireworks boomed overhead from nearby Australia Day celebrations, Li fell over again and slammed the back of her head into the court.
The 2011 French Open champion was treated immediately by a tournament doctor and had another time out before being allowed to resume the match. The second incident didn’t appear to affect Li’s movement.
Azarenka, who broke down in tears and sobbed into her towel when the match ended, won four of the next six games to claim her second major title and retain the No. 1 ranking.
“Unfortunately, you have to go through some rough patches to achieve great things. That’s what makes it so special for me,” she said. “I went through that, and I’m still able to kiss that beautiful trophy.”