China’s Li Na set up an unexpected Australian Open semi-final with Canadian Eugenie Bouchard after the teenager put out former grand slam champion Ana Ivanovic 5—7, 7—5, 6—2 on Tuesday. Li was untroubled in her defeat of fellow over-30 Flavia Pennetta of Italy 6—2, 6—2 in just 66 minutes in a full power-tennis display.
Li took a 5—0 lead to start and reached 4—0 in the second as one of China’s most high-profile sports figures moved into her third final in four editions at Melbourne Park.
She beat Bouchard in their only previous match in Montreal two years ago.
“I prepared for at least one and a half days for this match,” said Li, the 2011 Roland Garros champion and losing Melbourne finalist in 2011 and 2013.
“But I don’t know what happened (to Pennetta) today. Maybe I just played so well. Maybe I’ll keep trying to prepare for each match before I come to the court,” she said. Li’s win was her 10th of 2014 without a loss after winning a title in Shenzhen this month.
First Canadian woman to enter Melbourne semi-final
Bouchard needed almost two and a half hours to go through Ivanovic, the 2008 French Open champion who had defeated Maria Sharapova in the previous round.
The 19-year-old winner became the first Canadian to get this far in Melbourne and the first into any grand slam semi in three decades.
Bouchard put on a fight-back after losing a close opening set, and waited patiently through a seven-minute, over-the-limit injury timeout off court while Ivanovic was treated for thigh injuries.
She won a concluding seventh break of serve against the 14th-seeded Serb, duplicating her success at Wimbledon 2013 in the second round.
“We had a tough match, she was playing well at times,” said Bouchard.
“When she did there was not much I could do. I kept fighting, played aggressive and stepped it up in the second and third sets.
“The most important thing is to enjoy it out there and that’s what I’ve been doing. I tried to stay calm and go for my short, that’s when I play my best.”