Li Na kisses the trophy after winning the Shenzhen Gemdale Open on Saturday. Liang Xu / Xinhua

Chinese star battles to win her first tournament of the season

Li Na's confidence is high leading into the Australian Open after she opened her 2013 season with a bang in Shenzhen.

The top seed at the Shenzhen Gemdale Open left the event with her seventh WTA title and bag-load of positives after getting by Czech fifth seed Klara Zakopalova, 6-3, 1-6, 7-5, in a grinding 125-minute final on Saturday.

"I am so happy my first week of the 2013 season closed in such a successful way," Li told a packed post-match media conference.

"A flying start will definitely give me more confidence for the coming Australian Open. But tomorrow is another day. You can't win only with confidence. It still depends on how you play on the day.

"Anyway, I am satisfied that I did a better job in controlling my emotions today and played aggressively."

Though Li won the first set comfortably, she lost her consistency in the second and was broken three times by Zakopavola, who hit some impressive deep shots. Li regained her momentum in the third set and raced to a 5-2 lead, but the Czech rallied back to make it 5-5 before Li closed the match out with two strong games.

Still, Li's new-look serve was far from perfect as she hit 10 double faults and had a first-serve percentage of only 58.

"It is never easy to play against her because her game disturbs mine a lot," said Li, who had lost to Zakopalova twice in their three previous meetings.

It was Li's second pro Tour triumph in China, following a victory in Guangzhou in 2004 that made her the first Chinese player to win a WTA crown.

Li gets the opportunity to win more local tournaments as Chinese media reported on Saturday that another premier-level event will be staged in her home city, Wuhan, next year.

"It will be special for me if the news is true because it's a rare opportunity to play a tournament at home. I have special affection for Wuhan, so I am looking forward to the new event," said Li.

By winning in Shenzhen, Li, currently No 7 in the world, bagged the winner's purse of $112,080 and 280 WTA ranking points and will rise to No 6 in the WTA rankings that will be released on Monday.

Zakopalova, now 2-10 in WTA finals, is projected to rise from her current ranking of 28 a career-high of 26, which she also attained in 2006.

The Czech was full of praise for Li's new playing style and believes she can hit new heights.

"For sure, I see the potential for her (to crack the top three). She plays unbelievably fast and flat. She has a good backhand and she's moving very well.

"For me, she is one of the top three players right now. I wish her good luck and hope she can make it there this year," she said.

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 01/06/2013 page7)