Li saves seven match points before falling to Radwanska

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Wilson Blade 9

As Agnieszka Radwanska had just finished the first-set tiebreak of her Wimbledon quarterfinal three-setter against Li Na, her semifinal opponent Sabine Lisicki was already celebrating her victory over Kaia Kanepi, even though both the quarterfinals started at the same time.

Li started the match by breaking Radwanska to love, but she suffered the same fate in the following game – weird beginning. Later on it was again Li who had a lead, even served for the set at 5-4, but Radwanska saved four set points and benefited from an unchallenged ace by Li, leveled to 5-all and in the tiebreak secured two consecutive points from 5-all.

The second set started with Li holding to love, but Radwanska got a break and went up 4-2. However, it was not to be over and Li won four straight games to force a decider.

Play was suspended on Centre Court as the roof was called into action at the moment Li had a game point to hold to 1-2. Radwanska went on to a 4-1 lead, but serving for the match at 5-2 she needed eight match points to progress. Score: 7-6 (5) 4-6 6-2, in two hours and 43 minutes. (photo: sr_cranks)

2 COMMENTS

  1. I have to say that I was seriously impressed with Aga in this match. She was very consistent, she kept hitting harder and deeper than usual, playing the lines perfectly instead of the half–and-center-court balls we often see from her. And this was exactly the key to defeat Li, who played a very good match, but since her tennis is mostly offensive, she had a difficult time to get in her zone – Aga was placing her balls close to the lines, so Li couldn’t attack. And Aga’s serve was also great – first nice and deep, not very fast but well placed and her second – even if still very weak had a nice spin and Li just couldn’t find a good position to return. Which was actually funny – it was so weak that Li always tried to go for a winner, but since she was in bad position, most of what was supposed to be a killer return landed in the net 😉
    And now I’m already stressing over the match against Lisicki…

  2. I never lie.

    I love this blog.

    But, I just had a glass of Chardonnay. After 10 hours of work – heavy work in the heat. Which means I don’t have the will or capacity to say what should otherwise be diplomatically stated.

    I’ll start.

    Who won the WNBA championship last year?
    Which team?

    Do you know?

    What is the name of the second highest scoring women’s soccer player in America? What are her plans for 2014?

    I need not go much further to make the point that there is a desert, a place where the water is vacated and that place is where our celebration of women’s sport lives. Desert you say? Well, I say at least a less than seasonal average of rainfall, and let’s use the enactment of Title 9 as our datum.

    Women’s tennis is precious. We know these players, and we care. Their stories are compelling and needed because they define a path for our sisters and mothers and children to lead a life of sport with an outcome that resides in a place where our wonder, respect and imagination reside.

    I know Li, and A-Rad.

    Li? The most interesting person in tennis. Men’s and women’s. A beautiful player who was my pick after Jelena The Body Jankovic to win the 2013 event. The woman whom I described in contradiction to the knuckleheads in my country who fear the rise of China as the woman who makes boners so sincere that my fear is actually that the Chinese may punish us by making fewer babes such as Na Li.

    Bepa recently graduated from college in the field of diplomatic relations.

    Sheeyat.

    The women of the WTA are diplomats of the highest rank. Including Na Li. They teach the un-teachable about the humanity in all of us.

    If it’s not an a-priori given, it should be that one can and should not advocate war or jingoism against any country in which one has rubbed one out to a woman of said country. And the rubbing is the superficial part to begin with. She has a beautiful mind.

    Li Na is just lovable. And watchable. And her tennis has an Aggasi-esk-against-Sampras kind of beauty and fallibility that is utterly compelling. Like my beloved JJ, she plays with equal capacity to win or tragically or inexplicably lose.

    I’m doing my best (yet failing) at avoiding prurience, but she is so cute too!

    Damn!

    She played Maria and some knucklehead on the video was talking about Maria’s sexiness. The miserable fool had it backwards!

    Like….did you notice sometime she wear panties that are visible when she tucks away balls under her shorts?

    That is so hot. And if you can’t process that — YOU’VE got the problem.

    And how did Li’s husband get her? Inquiring minds want to know. What’s this guy got that he could…

    As soon as I’m done typing, I’m going to pour another glass of wine and watch the A-Rad-Li Na match. I will sincerely enjoy the art and the fire.

    This ain’t the WNBA. It’s live and big and it don’t need Serena or Maria for me to so dearly care. And I didn’t even get to A-Rad, my beloved Hingis 2.0.

    Congratulations to Jelena Jankovic — quarterfinalist in women’s doubles Wimbledon 2013.

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