Li beats Radwanska to make Melbourne last four

Wednesday, 23 January 2013 00:32 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Li Na wore down Agnieszka Radwanska with a barrage of power-hitting to beat the fourth seed 7-5, 6-3 and advance to her third semi-final at the Australian open on Tuesday.

The Chinese sixth seed overcame her customary slow start to edge the Pole in a tight first set and after trailing 2-0 in the second, reeled off five straight games to march to the brink of victory in bright sunshine at Rod Laver Arena.

Li survived a late wobble conceding two break points when serving for the match, but reeled off five straight points to seal it after 102 minutes when Radwanska pushed a forehand long.

Li, runner-up to Kim Clijsters in 2011, will face the winner of the match between second seed Maria Sharapova and fellow Russian Ekaterina Makarova for a place in the final.