Clijsters rallies past Li to win Australian Open

MELBOURNE, (Reuters) – Belgian Kim Clijsters shrugged  off a listless start to reel in China’s Li Na 3-6 6-3 6-3 to win  the Australian Open and her fourth grand slam title today.
Clijsters took control of the match after Li imploded under  pressure in the second set and took out her frustrations on her  country’s fans.
Stunned early by Li’s fierce baseline power, third seed  Clijsters upped her game to break at 3-3 in the second set in a  tension-charged atmosphere at Rod Laver Arena.
The 28-year-old Li crumbled spectacularly and marched to the  chair at the change of ends to ask British umpire Alison Lang:  “Can you tell the Chinese don’t teach me how to play  tennis?”
Li’s outburst was reminiscent of her infamous moment during  her semi-final against Dinara Safina at the Beijing Olympics  singles tournament where she told a boisterous local crowd to  “shut up.”
Having dominated for most of the match, Li won only three of  the next eight games as triple U.S. Open champion Clijsters  marched to her first Australian Open crown.
Li, who was bidding to become both China and Asia’s first  singles grand slam champion, almost fittingly blasted a wild  forehand to concede the match and Clijsters shrieked and held  her head in elation.
“I’m a little shaky still. Congratulations to Li Na. She had  a great effort the last two weeks and is definitely a very tough  competitor,” said working mum Clijsters, clutching the Daphne  Akhurst Memorial Cup.
“A few more grand slam finals together (with Li) would be  nice.”
The win was Clijsters’s third grand slam since returning to  the game in 2009 after a two-year retirement.
Li, who also complained about flashing cameras as the third  set slipped away, recovered her composure during the award’s  ceremony and thanked her husband and coach Jiang Shan in the  stands.
“The man in the yellow shirt is my husband. It doesn’t  matter if you are fat or skinny or ugly. I always love you,” she  said, prompting roars of laughter from the 15,000-strong crowd  at the stadium.
“It doesn’t matter if I win or lose because I tried my best.  February 3 is Chinese New Year so Happy New Year and see you  next year.”
Clijsters was the early aggressor, blasting an ace on the  first point, then breaking Li to love to charge to a 2-0 lead.
Ninth seed Li won her first point after losing the first  eight and sparked into life, attacking Clijsters’s serve with  abandon and taking the break back after the Belgian slapped a  backhand wide.
Li punished a wayward Clijsters as the Belgian sprayed shots  all over the court and the Chinese pressed the advantage to  bring up two set points with a searing forehand.
Li sealed the second with an imperious crosscourt forehand  that passed Clijsters at the net to charge into the second set  after only 38 minutes.
Shaken but not stirred, the Belgian bided her time as both  players struggled to hold serve, and gained a jolt of confidence  when she held to level 3-3.
Sensing a turning-point, Clijsters upped the tempo at 3-3 to  throw Li off her game, drawing two break points. Li saved one,  but froze on the second, ignoring an open court to blast a  volley straight back to Clijsters.
The Belgian, playing in her eighth grand slam final, snapped  up the chance and blasted a forehand winner to take the decisive  break and send Li charging toward the umpire in frustration.
Clijsters took advantage of Li’s gloom, holding serve before  sealing the set when Li dumped a backhand into the net.
The 27-year-old Belgian carried the momentum into the third  set, roaring to 4-1 before calmly serving out the match as Li’s  grand slam dream slipped through her fingers.