MELBOURNE, Australia – Li Na used the heat to her advantage and worked No. 2-ranked Maria Sharapova around Rod Laver Arena in a 6-2, 6-2 win on Thursday that put her in the Australian Open final for the second time in three years.
Sharapova was the heavy favorite after conceding only nine games in her first five matches, a record at the Australian Open since it expanded to a 128-player draw in 1988.
But the semifinal started badly for the 25-year-old Russian, who served double-faults to lose the first two points and conceded a break in the first game.
Li had the backing of the crowd at Rod Laver Arena, where dozens of red and white Chinese flags swirled in a light breeze, and where the temperature topped 93 degrees during the first of the semifinals.
Li was the first Chinese player to reach a Grand Slam final when she lost to Kim Clijsters in Melbourne in 2011. She had her breakthrough a few months later when she won the French Open, beating Sharapova in the semifinals along the way.
She will now play the winner of Thursday’s later semifinal between top-ranked Victoria Azarenka, the defending champion, and 19-year-old American Sloane Stephens. – AP
