AUS OPEN 2011: Women's Semifinals Review

Li Na CHN (9) d. Caroline Wozniacki DEN (1)  3-6 7-5 6-3. Li Na reached her first Australian Open final by continuing to go for her shots despite being a set and a break down. She got in that predicament by repeatedly misfiring on her powerful forehand, making many more errors than winners on that wing.  Wozniacki had a match point on her serve at 5-4, 40-30 but Li dismissed it with forehand down-the-line winner. She followed that up by winning a 20-plus stroke rally to earn a breakpoint which she won with a cross-court winner. Li held her serve at love and when Wozniacki served at 5-6 to earn a tiebreaker she lost her serve and the second set by double faulting on Li's second set point. In the third set Li was broken in the third game but broke back at love immediately and held serve easily to go up 3-2. The two then traded breaks and when Wozniacki served at 3-4 she used her last challenge a winner by Li that ave the Chinese player a break point. The two then played a very long point which ended with a Wozniacki error into the net, giving Li the break and the chance to serve out the match. Li wins the first two points of the game and then loses the next two on bad errors to reach 30-all. Li wins the next rally with and on her first match point Wozniacki hits the ball wide at the end of a rally to lose the match. Li makes history as the first woman or man from Asia to reach a Grand Slam final!

 Kim Clijsters BEL (3) d. Vera Zvonareva RUS (2) 6-3 6-3. Two words is all it takes to describe Clijsters play in this match: "brutally efficient." Zvonareva did not play badly, but Clijsters has the fire power to overwhelm Zvonareva's excellent defensive skills and did so by using patience and controlled aggression. Zvonareva started the match with a break of Clijsters serve but once Clijsters immediately broke back in the second game she was never in any real danger of losing.