Li Na became the first Chinese player to reach a Grand Slam singles final, recovering from a set and a break down and saving a match point before beating No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 Thursday in the Australian Open semifinals.
Wozniacki, playing at a major for he first time with the top ranking, had match point at 5-4 and 40-30 in the second set before Li rallied. An hour and six minutes later, she served out on her first match point.
Li, who lost to Serena Williams in two tiebreak sets in the semifinals here last year, will meet either Kim Clijsters or No. 2 Vra Zvonareva in the final.
Li beat Clijsters in the final of the leadup event at Sydney earlier this month, becoming the first Chinese woman to win a WTA premier event. It was just another first for Li, who was the first Chinese player to win a tour-level titl and the first to enter the top 10.
She is also the first Asian player to reach at Grand Slam final.
"I'm so happy I can be the first Chinese player to come to a final - I always do the first one!" she said in a lighthearted interview after the match in which she joked about losing sleep on the evef the match because her coach-husband Shan Jiang was snoring.
Asked what motivated her comeback, she deadpanned: "Prize money."
Li looked down and out after the first set, when she made 17 unforced errors and struggled for consistency. She finished with 51 unforced errors, but that was a reflection of her pushing Wozniacki to the extremes.
Wozniacki could have ended the match in 1 hour, 29 minutes, but Li hit a forehand down the line to save match point. It sparked a revival. She broke Wozniacki in that game to get the sets back on serve and then broke her Danish rival again.
They traded breaks twice in the third set before Li finished it off.
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