KVITOVA FALLS TO LI NA

Current world no. 3, Petra Kvitova was looking to gain the top ranking in women’s tennis before the Australian Open begins later this month, but that wasn’t to be. Her efforts were cut short by the 29 year old Li Na from China.

The Czech international won the first round very comfortably, breaking the Asian’s serve twice. Li Na looked like she wasn’t in the best of form as she went down 1-6 in the first set. The second set started on a similar note as the first one, with the Czech looking very comfortable.

But Li got some on-court advice from her coach, who also happens to be her husband, which totally seemed to have transformed her. She rallied brilliantly over the next two sets to win the match from being a set down. Winning the quarterfinals in style with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 over Kvitova ensured that Li enter the semi-finals of the tournament where she would face Victoria Azarenka.

Petra Kvitova’s exit from the Sydney International might have been a blow to her hopes of becoming the world no. 1 before the Australian Open, but the tennis world believes that she has a fair chance of making it big in the first Grand Slam tournament of the year.

The women’s tournament this year is a nightmare for people who like to bet, as there is no sign of any clear forerunners. The two players who have won the maximum number of Grand Slams are both outside the top 10 rankings due to their poor showing in recent, smaller, tournaments.

The top three female players have won a total of just one Grand Slam among themselves whereas Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters have won 17. It now remains to be seen how the new breed of players like Kvitova do on the Grand Slam level, with the latest tennis betting online putting the veteran Williams sisters as favourites to win the big tournaments this year.