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Li Na approaches her third Australian Open final as a strong favourite but her opponent Dominika Cibulkova is certainly a chance of causing the upset if she continues her present form. Join us for live scores and commentary of the Australian Open women’s final from 7.30pm AEDT.
Cibulkova will have to defy history if she is to defeat Na and claim her first ever grand slam title.
The Slovakian player is yet to defeat Na in the four matches they have played against each other. Moreover, she has only been able to win just one of nine sets played against the former French Open champion.
Despite her poor record against Na, Cibulkova has certainly made a habit of putting past performances behind here as evidenced by her stunning upset victory over Radwanska in the Australian Open semi-finals.
Having lost four of her past five matches against Radwanska, Cibulkova still managed to blow the former Wimbledon finalist off the park en route to a resounding 6-1, 6-2 victory.
Cibulkova’s performance against Radwanska says a lot about the way she has played thus far at the Australian Open.
The 24 year old has literally steamrolled her way through the women’s draw, completely outplaying former grand slam champions and finalists such as Maria Sharapova and Radwanska in the process.
Cibulkova has also only dropped three games per match in her recent victories over Radwanska and Simona Halep respectively.
One of the key reasons behind her dominant performances revolves around Cibulkova’s highly aggressive style off the forehand and backhand side.
The Slovakian has made a habit of punishing second serves and any short balls that are presented to her.
Cibulkova’s crosscourt backhand in particular is a major weapon and the key to beating Na in the final.
Na herself can produce great pace and depth of her backhand and forehand side, so expect both players to try and literally blow each other off the court with their aggressive groundstrokes.
Given that both players are blessed with powerful groundstrokes, the player that manages to find their range the quickest tonight will go a long way to winning the final.
It will be interesting to see how Na in particular copes with being the favourite in her third Australian Open final.
Given that she has lost her previous two deciders to Kim Clijsters and Victoria Azarenka respectively, Na may be burdened by expectation here against a player that many will be tipping her to defeat.
Cibulkova on the other hand really has nothing to lose and if she comes out firing the way she did against Radwanska, the Slovakian has the potential to really put Na off her game early on.
Thankfully for Na, Cibulkova possesses one of the weakest serves on the WTA tour, so the Chinese player will certainly get plenty of chances to put Cibulkova under pressure when facing the serve.
If Na is able to return well tonight, her confidence will build and a fit and confident Na should possess enough firepower and experience to win her first Australian Open crown.
Li Na in straight sets.