The second pair of quarterfinals saw defending champion Serena Williams surviving a tough contest against Victoria Azarenka, while Serena's sister Venus got upset by Li Na, the second player from China in this year's Australian Open semifinals.

The four-time Australian Open champion Serena Williams was on the brink of defeat after losing the first set and trailing 4-0 in the second. Serena's trademark comeback abilities are always by her side, especially at Grand Slams, and this time the American top seed resorted to them again to eventually beat Victoria Azarenka 4-6 7-6(4) 6-2.  The 11-time Grand Slam champion has won three Grand Slam titles saving match points on the way, two of the times at the Australian Open.

In the earlier quarterfinal, Venus Williams lost to Li Na 2-6 7-6(4) 7-5, and the Chinese advanced to her first Grand Slam semifinal, joining compatriot Zheng Jie in the elite four. Venus was two points away from winning the match in the second set, but threw away a match-winning lead. Li had saved two match points in her third-round victory over Agnes Szavay and has now progressed further than ever in a major event.

The other semifinal will feature Justine Henin and Zheng Jie. What was once science fiction has become reality, as now we have a possibility of an all-Chinese final. (photos via Australian Open)

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The fourth round came to a close on Day 8 of the 2010 Australian Open. Both Serena and Venus Williams progressed, as well as Chinese Li Na and Belorussian Victoria Azarenka.

Top seed Serena Williams routinely defeated home favorite Samantha Stosur 6-4 6-2 in the fourth round. The impressive performance by the American saw her lose only seven points on serve throughout the match, including one double-fault in the second set.

Serena’s opponent in the quarterfinals will be seventh-seeded Victoria Azarenka who won the day’s final match, coming back from a set down to beat Russian Vera Zvonareva 4-6 6-4 6-0 in almost two and a half hours.

Venus Williams had more trouble advancing to the quarterfinals than her sister Serena. The sixth seed lost the first set and was a break down in the second before recovering for a 3-6 6-2 6-1 victory against Italian Francesca Schiavone.

Next for Venus will be seed No.16 Li Na of China who upset fourth seed Caroline Wozniacki 6-4 6-3 to join countrywoman Zheng Jie in the last eight, thus making history for China – it is the first time two Chinese players are in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam event. Li Na and Venus Williams have had only one career meeting, at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and the winner was Li.

Other quarterfinal pairs include Justine Henin vs. Nadia Petrova and Zheng Jie vs. Maria Kirilenko. (photo via Australian Open)

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Li Na has signed with IMG, the leading client management company in tennis, and has thus joined IMG’s top clients including women’s tennis superstars such as Maria Sharapova, Venus Williams, Lindsay Davenport, Jelena Jankovic, Monica Seles, and others.

"We are very pleased to have Li Na as an IMG client," said Max Eisenbud, IMG senior vice president who will manage the Chinese world No.16.

"She has been one of the most successful players in China’s history and in 2009 became Asia and China’s No. 1 player with a world ranking of No. 18. She has been largely hailed as being instrumental in advancing the sport within China." (source: On the Baseline, photo via Sony Ericsson WTA Tour)

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Slovakia's Magdalena Rybarikova claimed her first WTA Tour singles title after beating Li Na in Sunday’s final at the AEGON Classic.

The 13th-seeded Rybarikova bageled Li in the first set and won the second set in a tiebreaker to close out a 6-0 7-6(2) victory. The 20-year-old Rybarikova wasn’t broken once in her first WTA singles final and beat the fourth-seeded Li in just 73 minutes.

The Chinese world No.20, who knocked out Maria Sharapova in the semifinals, was hoping for her third WTA title.

Winning the AEGON Classic title, the 58th-ranked Rybarikova took home $37,000.

Additional info: Rybarikova has gained direct entry into the Wimbledon main draw for the first time. Last year, she passed the qualifying, but lost in the opening round. (photo: Getty Images via Sony Ericsson WTA Tour)

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Maria Sharapova was beaten by fourth seed Li Na 6-4 6-4 in the semifinals of the AEGON Classic in Birmingham.

The former Wimbledon champion, who had been looking for her third title in Birmingham, suffered six breaks of serve while Li was avenging her Roland Garros defeat.

The world No.20 Li will play Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia, who defeated Sania Mirza of India 3-6 6-0 6-3 in the other semifinal.

Sharapova will spend next week practicing at Wimbledon, which starts June 22. (photo courtesy of our reader Richard)

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