Li Na shanks serve into crowd on eventful Australian Open tour
Li Na put an end to Agnieszka Radwanska’s 13-match win streak Tuesday, winning 7-5, 6-3 to advance to her third Australian Open semifinal in four years, where she’ll face Maria Sharapova. The match wasn’t as straightforward as the score might indicate. The two shared 10 breaks of serve. Radwanska threw in her messiest performance of the year, hitting 21 unforced errors to just 10 winners. Li took advantage of her scratchy form to steal the first set before her game finally clicked in the second.
The breaks came fast and furious thanks in large part to shanks like the video above. Playing the first match on Rod Laver Arena, Li struggled with the sun and fired one right into the crowd.
Channel 7′s Sam Smith replayed the footage for Li after the match. Li’s quick wit set up a day of funny media moments for the woman considered the best interview in tennis.
“I wanna have good communication with the fans,” she said, to the delight of the Aussie crowd. “OK, Carlos, be sure we’re practicing the serve,” directing her comments to coach Carlos Rodriguez.
