Li Na defeats Venus, becomes China's first top ten tennis player
Li Na (李娜) moved into the semifinals at the 2010 Australian Open today by defeating 7-time Grand Slam champion, Venus Williams, 2-6, 7-6(4), 7-5. Despite being down a set, 3-5, and two points away from losing the match, Li Na fought back using her powerful groundstrokes off both sides, successfully moving Venus from side to side. Coupled with Zheng Jie's (郑洁) quarterfinal win yesterday, Li Na's upset victory setups the possibility of an all-Chinese final this weekend.
The semifinal matches (draw here) will take place tomorrow. Li Na will play Serena Williams, the number one player in the world. In the other semifinal, unseeded Zheng Jie will play another unseeded player and former number one in the world, Justine Henin of Belgium. Both Li and Zheng will be considered underdogs in their respective semifinal matches.
