Li Na has defeated Kiki Bertens of Holland in the second round of the Sony Open. Li won the match in the straight sets by 6-3, 6-1.
This was Li’s first match after losing the final match of the Australian Open against Victoria Azarenka.
After the match, Li said, “I just tried to stick to the basics and that worked. This was my first match in the last one and half months. It was nice to secure a straight set win in my comeback match.”
“I was overwhelmed to see so many fans turning up to cheer for me. Their support certainly helped me.”
When asked about the condition of her ankle which she had injured in the Australian Open final, Li said, “It’s alright now. I haven’t felt pain since the last two weeks and it is also not obstructing me from moving fluently.”
Li had made a great start to the ongoing season by winning the Shenzhen Open in front of her home crowd. She had defeated Klara Zakopalova of Czech Republic in the final of that event. That was the 7th WTA title won by her.
Her performance was fine in the Apia International Sydney tennis tournament as well. She cruised into the final 4 of that tournament where she had to face the no. 4 player in the world Agnieszka Radwanska. She couldn’t get better of the Polish superstar and missed the opportunity of starting the season with two consecutive title victories.
She went one step further in the Australian Open and reached the finals there, but, again, she couldn’t hold her nerve in the big match and lost the final.
Li has played 17 matches in the season so far. She has won 15 out of them and has lost only two.