Tennis

Li Na reaches back-to-back semifinals in Australia

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-01-25 10:07

Li Na of China plays a shot to Andrea Petkovic of Germany during the women's quarter-final match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne Jan 25, 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

 

MELBOURNE - Li Na beat Andrea Petkovic 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday to reach the Australian Open semifinals for the second straight year.

The No 9-seeded Li broke her German rival's serve three times in the first set and twice in the second, recovering an early break in each set herself and playing more consistently than the erratic Petkovic.

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Li lost the 2010 semifinal in two tiebreak sets to eventual champion Serena Williams.

"It's good for me - the second time in a Grand Slam semifinal always in Australian Open," Li said. "Hopefully I can do better in this year. I don't want to lose in semis again."

The 28-year-old Li was the only quarterfinalist from the last Australian Open to reach the last eight this year.

She has extended her winning streak to 10 matches this year, including her title run at the tuneup tournament in Sydney, where she became the first Chinese player to win a WTA Premier singles title.