THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 2014 SPORTS Tears, blackout - now a win for China’s Li? MELBOURNE: Li Na blacked out during first Grand Slam singles finalist at the last year’s Australian Open final and in Australian Open in 2011, when she was 2012 she departed in floods of tears. Now also a set up against Kim Clijsters before she may feel that, finally, her time has losing in three. However, it proved the come. The season’s first Grand Slam has springboard to her greatest success, been a love-hate affair for the Chinese when she made history as Asia’s first star, a popular figure at Melbourne Park Grand Slam winner at the French Open who has twice made the final without later that year. being able to lift the trophy. But ongoing With expectations sky-high, and spon- improvement under coach Carlos sors and media clamoring for her atten- Rodriguez has put Li, who turns 32 next tions, Li’s form dipped and she fled her month, in a strong position to make the press conference in tears after a fourth- trophy hers. round Australian Open defeat to Clijsters Li, currently ranked fourth in the in 2012. Months later, after nose-diving world, ended 2013 at a career-high three out of the London Olympics’ first round, Li following her runner-up finish to Serena took the tough decision to sideline her Williams at the season-ending WTA husband, Jiang Shan, as coach in favor of Championships. It capped a year that Argentina’s Rodriguez. It proved another began in bittersweet circumstances for Li, bold but highly effective move from Li, who was a set up against Victoria who famously walked away from China’s Azarenka in the Melbourne final before harsh state system in an example that painfully rolling her left ankle. After the would later be followed by other athletes. traditional break for Australia Day fire- She approaches the Australian Open works, Li went down again in the third in good form after starting the year with set, smashing the back of her head on the victory at the Shenzhen Open, beating court and briefly blacking out. compatriot Peng Shuai in the final. Li will “I think I was a little bit worried when I now feel confident about facing anyone- fell down and my head hit the floor, except perhaps the intimidating Williams, because for two seconds I couldn’t really against whom she employed an unusual see anything. It was totally black,” she said tactic in the WTA Championships final in at the time. “So when the physio came, October. “Yeah, don’t look at her at all, you she was like, ‘Focus on my finger’. I started know,” she confided to reporters in laughing. I was thinking, ‘This is a tennis Istanbul. The trick did not work for Li, who court, not a hospital!’” Li became Asia’s went down 2-6, 6-3, 6-0. —AFP Li Na of China Del Potro stands firm as seeds tumble in Sydney Errani joins seed exodus; Tomic battle through MELBOURNE: World number five Juan Martin del Potro, the man tipped to challenge for grand slam titles this season, began his year with a scrappy win over Frenchman Nicolas Mahut to advance to the quarter-finals of the Sydney International yesterday. The Sydney warm-up to the Australian Open has proved a graveyard for the seeds this week but the 25- year-old former US Open champion avoided an early flight to Melbourne by coming back to win 1-6 6-3 6-4. Rated a dark horse to win the title at MELBOURNE: Richard Gasquet of France serves in his match with Jordan Melbourne Park and add to his sole grand slam Thompson of Australia at the invitational Kooyong Classic tennis tournament triumph at Flushing Meadows in 2009, the top in Melbourne yesterday. —AFP seeded Argentine will next take on Czech veter- an Radek Stepanek for a place in the last four. Other seeds struggled, with No.3 Andreas Seppi from Italy bundled out by Australia’s Marinko Frenchmen Gasquet, Matesovic 6-3 6-4 and sixth seed Julien Benneteau of France dumped in straight sets by Simon win at Kooyong Ukraine’s Sergiy Stakhovsky. Defending champi- on Bernard Tomic advanced with a hard-fought MELBOURNE: France’s Richard Gasquet set. The Aussie benefited as Gasquet, recov- 6-3 4-6 6-4 win over Slovenian qualifier Blaz and Gilles Simon earned opening-day wins ering from recent back pain, committed Kavcic, continuing his habit of raising his game at the Kooyong Classic yesterday as prepa- more than 40 unforced errors, around half for home fans at the start of the year. ration for next week’s Australian Open of them on his strong backhand side. The rangy 21-year-old, ranked 52nd in the began to heat up. World number nine Gasquet said the complaint which world, has disappointed some in Australia for Gasquet was tested by 321st-ranked stopped him last week in Doha was not failing to live up to sky-high expectations and Australian Jordan Thompson-a late substi- completely healed, one of the reasons he has been drawn into controversy by his coach tute for a fatigued Lleyton Hewitt-before was repeatedly called for foot faults on his and father John Tomic. Tomic senior has been SYDNEY: Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina lunges to play a shot in his match against escaping with a 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (7/4) win. The serve. “I’m not happy with my form at the barred from the Australian Open after a court in Nicolas Mahut of France during the Sydney International Tennis Tournament in Sydney, eight-man tournament is considered the moment. I need to be 100 percent for Spain convicted him of assaulting his son’s for- Australia yesterday. —AP top tune-up for the season’s first Grand Monday. We will have to see what happens mer hitting partner last year. “The majority of Slam, starting Monday. over the next couple of days,” said the the crowd like me in Australia,” the 21-year-old mer Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, who nearly suffered an embarrassing defeat by And Simon rallied from the depths to Frenchman who has never been past the Tomic told reporters after setting up a quarter- wore down Lucie Safarova 7-6 6-2, for a place in teenager Jordan Thompson, and had to save overhaul Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 fourth round of the Australian Open. final with Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov. “At the the final. two match points before fending off the 321st- after the Swiss served for a straight-set vic- Berdych admitted that he was distracted by end of the day, if you win, it’s going to put a zip ranked Australian 7-5 3-6 7-6 (7-4). tory in the event. Wawrinka, world number a red-and-white court background which to everyone.” BERDYCH WINS Sam Stosur’s stuttering revival after a dismal eight, committed more than 40 unforced made it tough for him to see the ball as he The women’s draw, which has already seen The invitational Kooyong Classic kicked off in Hopman Cup continued with a second straight errors in windy conditions as Simon seized faced Verdasco. “I struggled with the back- top seed Agnieszka Radwanska and former Melbourne’s leafy eastern suburbs yesterday, win at the Hobart International in front of home the initiative in the match which had ground, it was really tough to make out the world number one Caroline Wozniacki sent with a smattering of men’s top 10 players warm- fans. The former US Open champion had to save appeared to have been a lost cause. “It was ball. packing, lost third seed Sara Errani, last year’s ing up at the eight-man exhibition, which offers two match points against 54th-ranked a good win, it’s always difficult to play Stan,” But after a while I started to see it surprise French Open semi-finalist, who was the same surface used at Melbourne Park. World Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic as she said Simon. “He doesn’t give much rhythm more clearly,” he said. “I began hitting the upset 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 by Bulgaria’s Tsvetana number seven Tomas Berdych roared back from labored through a 6-4 2-6 7-6 (9-7) match and you never know what to expect. “It’s ball better and my game got better and Pironkova in the quarter-finals. The Italian world a 5-2 deficit in the first set to overhaul Spaniard blighted by an astonishing 22 double-faults good to be playing this kind of tennis with better as the match went on.” Berdych number seven took a medical time-out in the Fernando Verdasco 7-5 6-2 in his first hit-out of from both players. World number three David the Grand Slam coming.” recovered from 5-2 down in the opening second set to have treatment on her lower back, 2014 in brilliant sunshine. Japanese number Ferrer, bidding for his fourth straight Auckland Czech Tomas Berdych, ranked seventh, set and took victory on his first match raising concerns over her fitness ahead of the one Kei Nishikori also enjoyed an opening win Open crown, began his 10th appearance in the had earlier shrugged off a slow start to point after a double break in the second. year’s first grand slam. Former Wimbledon semi- over Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.