BEIJING, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese star Li Na booked the final singles place at WTA championships-Istanbul with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska in the quarter-final of the China Open on Friday.
Li, who led with a 4-3 win loss head-to-head record against Radwanska before the match, needed one hour 30 minutes to beat the third seed Pole to come back to the semi-final of China Open after two years.
And there is another good news for Li that she qualified for the WTA Championships Istanbul for the second successive year. However, the world number eight even didn' t know this achievement after sending Radwanska back home.
"Are you sure I' m eligible for that?" Li asked the reporter at the news conference, "Okay, I have a very high expectation for my performance in WTA Final. I know that Bartoil is right behind me because she is basically belongs to No.8."
"In the last two years, I have played the best tennis of my career and I am excited to return to the WTA championships again this year." added Li,who will face Sharapova in the semi-final tomorrow.
After fighting 3-3 in the first set, Li reached the turning point by breaking Radwanska in the seventh game to establish a 4-3 lead and held to claim the first set.
The second set started off on even terms 2-2 as both players hold the serves, but Radwanska began to make unforced errors and drop her serve in the fifth game. On the other side, Li broke again in the seventh game and held serve to close out the match.
"I don' t think it is very easy for me to beat opponent like Radwanska. Every single match every week is won on the basis of hard work," said Li, who won the first title of the season at Cincinnati Open.
Compared to last season, Li Na had 38-14 win loss record this year which made her satisfied.
"I am happy to have this performance, because last year I don' t have very good performance and this year I make some adjustment to such a high level." Li said.