The opening three games contrasted with the first women's match today in that it previewed a more all court brand of tennis from both players, prepared to mix it up when on the defensive and also to gain an advantage from the outset. Kim often loses her first service game and she was true to that form today, Li Na clinching it with a stunning passing shot down the line. The favour was promptly reciprocated with Clijsters displaying a great deal of her wares to draw level at 1-1, also sewing it up with a down the line pass.
The next attempted service game brought a better return ( forgive the accidental pun) for Kim as she dominated Li Na to lead 2-1, the domination extending into game four where Li Na kept her record of dropping serve perfect to trail 1-3.
Kim then served a game that included some of her worst tennis that you could wish to see, capped off with a double fault. While she was serving up this garbage, Li Na had sent her backhand out to the garage for a tuneup and it came back just in time to be used in the 6th game. Together with some other sweet shots the backhand assisted Li Na to hold her first serve for the day and games were back on serve at 3-3.All that had gone before counted for nothing when at 30-15 on Kim's next serve the reigning champ did something to her foot that required immediate medical attention. Li Na must have been wondering if she was an injury curse on opposing players. Nonetheless, a strapped up Clijsters returned eventually to the court to complete her game. Lazarus Clijsters held onto the serve and led 4-3. Thankfully the damage to the fake toe nail must have been minimal.
Top standard tennis as you would expect from two of the Grand Slam singles champions from 2011 and Li Na pressed hard, sweeping through her own service game and then pushing Kim even harder to force the break and then serve for the set at 5-4.
The choice of when to lob and when to pass was working a treat for Li Na, thinking as much as hitting her way towards the set. It did arrive her way but not before some moments of concern, designed by Kim with ripping groundstrokes of her own making. 6-4 Li Na and the best women's tennis match at the Open so far.
Set two and Kim to do the honours - the four time Grand Slam singles champ did the necessaries and handed the gauntlet over to Li Na who repeated the drill for a steady 1-1 beginning. Drama seems to be Kim's domain of recent times, so while it surprised that service was lost in the third game not so surprising that Kim did the losing. A set and break to the good, effectively this match now should be Li Na's to lose.
Kim refused to obey the marching orders out of here and stayed around causing more than nuisance value to Li Na. The Belgian star played some great passing shots before Li Na held firm to lead 3-1, but Kim again fired up with her most convincing service game for ages. 2-3 then 15-40 for Li Na and the set became an even money bet again. Sealed with the second wildly long shot from Li Na the break levelled the set at 3-3.
The girls carefully forged a path through dangerous woods until Kim set a stake with the ultimatum for Li Na to hold serve at 4-5 and stay in the set. She did. And again at 5-6 courtesy of 3 magnificent backhands on the trot. We had ourselves a tiebreak.
The tiebreak that could have seen Li Na throw a quarter final spot away. Leading 6-2, Clijsters really threw back the pressure when it was match points against her, to make Li Na crumple into a heap on the court as the set went to Kim 7-6 (8 points to 6 in the breaker)
How would the 5th seed react to this adversity?
Not well - the confidence well and truly shattered by the golden opportuniy lost, clarified itself on the scoreboard as Clijsters broke the first two serves of Li Na. More correctly, Li Na donated those games, and did nothing to prevent Kim winning easily on her own serve. Truth be known, Li Na had left the building and a hologram was present for the remainder of this match. 4-0 and anti-climax of the lowest order.
One game to the spirit of Li Na saved a complete whitewash and a few more tidied the scorecard a little, but nothing saved the elimination of the 5th seed in devastating circumstances. Clijsters still alive to defend her title 4-6 7-6 6-4
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