Li Na wins her second grand slam title with Australian Open victory
Chinese star beats Dominika Cibulkova in straight sets in Melbourne
China’s Li Na weathered a feisty challenge from Dominika Cibulkova before roaring to a 7-6 (7-3) 6-0 victory to win the Australian Open on Saturday.
Struggling with her serve and an errant forehand in a tight first set, the fourth seed Li found her range in devastating fashion to notch six straight games on a cool, breezy night at Rod Laver Arena.
At 31, Li became the oldest woman to win the Australian Open, surpassing Margaret Court’s 1973 title at the age of 30.
Cibulkova gave up two match-points when the Slovakian pushed a backhand long and saved one of them when Li did likewise, but crumbled on the second to give the Chinese her second grand slam title after winning the 2011 French Open.
Runner-up in 2011 and last year, Li raised her hands in the air in triumph and after shaking hands with her opponent, went straight to her player’s box to embrace her coach Carlos Rodriguez.
After a nervous start for both players, Li was the first to settle and unleashed a blistering backhand down the line to gain a break point in the opening game against the pint-sized 20th seed, who promptly double-faulted on the next point.