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Li to Meet Azarenka in Women’s Final Azarenka to Meet Li in Women’s Final
(about 5 hours later)
MELBOURNE, Australia — It will be Li Na versus Victoria Azarenka in the women’s final at the Australian Open, and though Li’s straight-set victory over Maria Sharapova in their semifinal Thursday brooked no argument, the same could not be said for Azarenka’s straight-set victory over the 19- year-old American Sloane Stephens. MELBOURNE, Australia — It will be Li Na versus Victoria Azarenka in the women’s final at the Australian Open, and though Li’s straight-set victory over Maria Sharapova in their semifinal Thursday brooked no argument, the same could not be said for Azarenka’s straight-set victory over the 19-year-old American Sloane Stephens.
While the sixth-seeded Li romped 6-2, 6-2, playing one of the finest and most composed big matches of her career, the top-seeded Azarenka struggled to keep her cool down the stretch on this steamy day in Melbourne. While the sixth-seeded Li romped, 6-2, 6-2, playing one of the finest big matches of her career, the top-seeded Azarenka struggled to keep her cool down the stretch on a steamy day in Melbourne, when temperatures reached 97 degrees.
Serving for the match against Stephens at 5-3 in the second set, she failed to convert on five match points and was eventually broken when Stephens smacked a forehand winner down the line. Serving for the match against the 29th-seeded Stephens at 5-3 in the second set, Azarenka failed to convert on five match points and was eventually broken when Stephens smacked a forehand winner down the line.
When Azarenka walked to her seat for the change of ends, she wrapped a towel stuffed with ice around her neck and was examined by the W.T.A. primary health care provider Victoria Simpson and by a tournament physician, Dr. Tim Wood. She eventually left the court for further treatment, which meant that Stephens, in her first Grand Slam semifinal, was left waiting to serve to stay in the match.When Azarenka walked to her seat for the change of ends, she wrapped a towel stuffed with ice around her neck and was examined by the W.T.A. primary health care provider Victoria Simpson and by a tournament physician, Dr. Tim Wood. She eventually left the court for further treatment, which meant that Stephens, in her first Grand Slam semifinal, was left waiting to serve to stay in the match.
Azarenka returned to the court six minutes later, and the overall break in play was close to 10 minutes. The time allotted on a normal changeover is 90 seconds.Azarenka returned to the court six minutes later, and the overall break in play was close to 10 minutes. The time allotted on a normal changeover is 90 seconds.
Stephens, who had upset the tournament favorite Serena Williams in the quarterfinals, proceeded to lose her serve and the match 6-1, 6-4. Stephens, who upset the tournament favorite Serena Williams in the quarterfinals, proceeded to lose her serve and the match, 6-1, 6-4.
Though medical timeouts are permitted by the rules at that stage of a match, the timing of her break in play was immediately questioned by many in the tennis community, who viewed it as potential gamesmanship. Though medical timeouts are permitted by the rules at that stage of a match in the case of injury, the timing of her break in play was questioned by many in the tennis community, who viewed it as potential gamesmanship.
“An absolute travesty,” said Patrick McEnroe, the ESPN analyst who is also head of the United States Tennis Association’s player development program that has helped to back Stephens. “I thought it was a little unfair play,” said David Nainkin, Stephens’s coach. “I thought she bent the rules. I don’t think she broke the rules, but she bent them, and I think those rules need to be looked at because I think there’s a gray area there.”
In her post-match interview on court and later with the television network ESPN, Azarenka, the defending champion, did not immediately explain if she was suffering from a legitimate injury or medical condition. But she made it clear that she had been distraught. In a Twitter message, the ESPN analyst Patrick McEnroe called the situation “an absolute travesty.” McEnroe is also head of the United States Tennis Association’s player development program, which has supported Stephens.
She was asked why she had gone off court. In her postmatch television interviews on court and with ESPN, Azarenka, the defending champion, did not immediately explain whether she had an injury or medical condition. But she made it clear that she had been distraught.
“Well, I almost did the choke of the year right now at 5-3, having so many chances I couldn’t close it out. I just felt a little bit overwhelmed. I realized I’m one step away from the final and nerves got into me for sure.” Asked why she had gone off court, she said: “Well, I almost did the choke of the year right now at 5-3. Having so many chances I couldn’t close it out. I just felt a little bit overwhelmed. I realized I’m one step away from the final, and nerves got into me for sure.”
I.T.F. officials later confirmed that Azarenka had been given two consecutive medical timeouts to be treated for two separate injuries: one to a rib and one to her left knee. Azarenka explained that she was having trouble breathing on court because of a rib problem that was causing her back to seize up. Azarenka later attributed her failure to mention the injuries in her on-court interview to misunderstanding the question.
The Grand Slam supervisor Donna Kelso confirmed that Azarenka had been given two consecutive medical timeouts of three minutes each to be treated for two separate injuries: one to a rib and one to her left knee. Azarenka explained that she was having trouble breathing on court because of a rib problem that was causing her back to seize up.
“I had to unlock my rib, which was causing my back problem,” she said. “The trainer said, ‘We have to go off court to treat that.’ I just didn’t really want to take off my dress on the court.”“I had to unlock my rib, which was causing my back problem,” she said. “The trainer said, ‘We have to go off court to treat that.’ I just didn’t really want to take off my dress on the court.”
She said the knee injury “wasn’t that big a deal” and was caused by a slip early in the second set. She said that the knee injury “wasn’t that big a deal” and was caused by a slip early in the second set and that she was under the impression that she had taken only one injury timeout for her rib.
Azarenka agreed the timing of her timeout was unfortunate. “The timing, yeah, it was my bad,” she said. “The game before that, when I lost my service game, it kept getting worse. I thought I would have to play through it and keep calm. But it just got worse. You know, I had to do it.” “She took two but did not take the full allotment of time,” Kelso said.
But Azarenka stopped short of apologizing to Stephens and said she had not even considered having sympathy for Stephens’s enforced wait. Nainkin said he had “never heard of two medical timeouts back to back.”
“In all my years, that’s a first,” he said. “Two different injuries? I think it’s unprofessional. Saying that, she did win the match and played a great game at 5-4, but tennis is a game of momentum and Sloane had the momentum, and obviously the little break definitely changed things.”
Azarenka agreed that the timing of her timeout was unfortunate.
“The timing, yeah, it was my bad,” she said. “The game before that, when I lost my service game, it kept getting worse. I thought I would have to play through it and keep calm. But it just got worse. You know, I had to do it.”
But Azarenka stopped short of apologizing to Stephens and said she had not even considered whether she felt sympathy for Stephens’s enforced wait.
“Apology?” Azarenka said. “I don’t know if that’s apology. For the timing, I cannot be in control how long it takes to fix my injury, you know.”“Apology?” Azarenka said. “I don’t know if that’s apology. For the timing, I cannot be in control how long it takes to fix my injury, you know.”
Stephens said she did not believe the long break had an impact on the outcome. Stephens said she did not believe the long wait had an impact on the outcome.
“It didn’t go my way, but I wouldn’t say at all that her, what happened, affected the match,” Stephens said. “I did lose the next game,”‘ she said. “But I wouldn’t say that’s because of the medical timeout.”
Stephens and Azarenka are friendly and are represented by the same management company. “Of course I love Vika and we share the same agent, and we actually are pretty good friends,” Stephens said. “So I’m sure I’ll see her and we’ll talk about it.” Stephens and Azarenka are friendly and are represented by the same management company.
The incident could prompt further internal discussion about the medical timeout rule at the Grand Slam events and on the W.T.A. Tour. “Of course I love Vika and we share the same agent, and we actually are pretty good friends,” Stephens said. “So I’m sure I’ll see her and we’ll talk about it.”
But ultimately, the decision on Thursday lay with the medical personnel on court. According to the rulebook, if they determine that a condition requires a medical timeout, their word is “final.” In an interview later with a small group of American reporters, Stephens, whose opponents have taken medical timeouts in her last four matches in Melbourne, joked that injury timeouts were “the in thing.”
Despite Azarenka’s struggles to finish, she dominated the majority of the match, proving more consistent in the baseline exchanges as Stephens struggled to produce the same form she had demonstrated in the closing phases of her upset against Williams, who was treated for a back spasm during that match. “It’s trendy,” she said.
That Li could beat the second-seeded Sharapova was no great surprise. One of China’s biggest sports stars, Li is one of the game’s true quality players and was a finalist here in 2011. But it was definitely a surprise that she could beat Sharapova as comprehensively as she did Thursday. A newcomer to this advanced stage of a Grand Slam, Stephens has now been treated to the sight of an all-time great, Williams, smashing her racket in frustration across the net and the top-ranked Azarenka slamming a ball in anger and struggling to control her emotions. ‘
Sharapova had lost just nine games in five matches heading into the semifinal. Mischievous number-crunchers were calculating her earnings per minute of court time: well over $1,000. ‘Stirring ’em up, yeah, stirring ’em up; you got to keep them on their toes,” Stephens said with a grin. “No, things happen, but I guess I’ve got to be doing something right, got all these things happening.”’
But Li will end up with the bigger paycheck in Melbourne after feasting on Sharapova’s second serve and winning a clear majority of their physical baseline rallies. She also said that she had never taken an injury timeout herself.
Asked if her lack of a major test in the earlier rounds might have played a role in her minor-key performance on Thursday, Sharapova demurred. Several coaches and analysts expressed hope that the incident Thursday would lead to a re-examination of the medical timeout rule at Grand Slam events and on the W.T.A. Tour.
“I can’t think of it that way; I certainly can’t use that as an excuse,” she said. “When I go into any match, I’m trying to win with the best scoreline I can. That’s my goal.” “I mean everybody’s appalled by it,” said Pam Shriver, a former player and analyst. “I think if you can continue to play in any way, it’s bad luck but you’ve got to wait until the person is finished serving.”
“Today I felt like I had my fair share of opportunities. It’s not like they weren’t there. I just couldn’t take them today.” But ultimately, the decision lay with the medical personnel on court. According to the Grand Slam rule book, if they determine that a player is indeed in need of a medical timeout, their word is ‘final.’
Sharapova still holds an 8-5 record over Li and won all three of their matches in 2012 when Li struggled to produce an encore to her remarkable 2011 season, when she reached the final at the Australian Open and then became the first Chinese player to win a Grand Slam singles title at the French Open. Despite Azarenka’s struggles to finish, she dominated most of the match, proving more consistent in the baseline exchanges as Stephens struggled to produce the same form she had demonstrated in the closing phases of her upset of Williams.
But she appears to be regaining momentum in 2013, six months after she and her husband Jiang Shan made the mutual decision to demote Jiang from coach back to husband and to hire Carlos Rodriguez. Stephens is expected to be ranked 17th Monday. Williams, seeded third, may still end up No. 1. Azarenka must beat Li in Saturday’s final to hold off Williams and retain the top ranking. Williams, who was treated for a back spasm during her loss to Stephens and sprained her ankle earlier in the tournament, released a picture via Twitter on Thursday of a very badly swollen right ankle.
Rodriguez has been pushing Li particularly hard in physical training and Li, who likes a joke, turned toward Rodriguez and the rest of her team during her post-match interview on Thursday and gave a new directive. Her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, confirmed that it was indeed hers.
“You don’t need to push me anymore,” she said. “I will push me.” “I think the back problem came because she was compensating for the ankle,” Mouratoglou said. “She was icing it constantly here. She also caught a cold before the tournament, so she was fighting a lot of things out there.”
Rodriguez knows Sharapova’s game very well and also knows what it takes to beat her. The star he long coached, Justine Henin, who retired in 2011 because of an elbow problem, was 7-3 during her career against the much taller Russian. He said Williams would undergo further examinations on the ankle to determine when she could resume training.
And though Li and Henin are different players — Henin’s signature shot was a one-handed backhand — they share a certain innate vulnerability. Li has struggled with her on-court composure over the years and lost memorably but painfully at last year’s Australian Open in the fourth round to Kim Clijsters after holding four match points and a 6-2 lead in the second-set tiebreaker. Meanwhile, Li and Azarenka will prepare to try to win their second Grand Slam singles title. At the French Open in 2011, Li became the first Chinese woman to win a Grand Slam singles title. Azarenka won the Australian Open last year.
But Li held on Thursday, closing out the match on her second match point, and she has yet to drop a set in this tournament despite a difficult draw. Her return to the final here presumably will spark greater interest in China than in Melbourne, where the women’s semifinals on Thursday were not sold out and where there are still tickets available for the women’s final on Saturday (the later men’s rounds have long been sold out). Li, a finalist here in 2011, appears to be re-gathering momentum in 2013, six months after she and her husband, Jiang Shan, made the mutual decision to demote Jiang from coach back to husband and hire Carlos Rodriguez, the former coach of Justine Henin.      
Li’s success here was also the latest coup for veteran players. Serena Williams won two Grand Slam singles titles and the Olympic gold medal last year at age 30. Li is 30 now herself, something that the retired player turned Australian television anchor Rennae Stubbs teased her about. That Li could beat the second-seeded Sharapova was no big surprise, but that she beat Sharapova so easily was definitely a surprise.      
But as Sharapova rediscovered, Li has a dangerous return of serve, and when Stubbs made mention of Li’s age in the post-match interview, Li smiled. Sharapova had lost just nine games in five matches heading into the semifinal. Mischievous number crunchers were calculating her earnings per minute of court time: well over $1,000.      
But Li, who shares the same agent (Max Eisenbud), will end up with the bigger paycheck after feasting on Sharapova’s second serve and winning a clear majority of their physical baseline rallies.      
Asked if her lack of a major test in the earlier rounds might have played a role in her minor-key performance Thursday, Sharapova demurred. “I can’t think of it that way; I certainly can’t use that as an excuse,” she said. “When I go into any match, I’m trying to win with the best score line I can. That’s my goal.”
Sharapova’s average second-serve speed was a very respectable 93 miles per hour, but she won just 6 of 24 points with it as Li broke her serve seven times in all. She was also particularly effective in stretching the 6-foot-2 Sharapova wide to her forehand with sliced serves and well-struck crosscourt forehands of her own. Sharapova’s forehand, when she is on balance, is a major weapon, but less effective on the run.      
Li’s success here is the latest coup for veteran players. Williams won two Grand Slam singles titles and the Olympic gold medal last year at age 30. Li is 30 herself, something that Rennae Stubbs, a retired player turned Australian television anchor, teased her about Thursday.
But as Sharapova rediscovered, Li has a dangerous return of serve, and after Stubbs made mention of Li’s age in the postmatch interview, Li smiled.
“You know,” Li said, “The truth is I’m younger than you.”“You know,” Li said, “The truth is I’m younger than you.”