MELBOURNE, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Belarus world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka beat injured Li Na of China in three sets to retain her Australian Open title here on Saturday in a dramatic women's singles final at the Melbourne Park.
The match was stopped three times, twice when sixth-seeded Li twisted her left ankle and took medical timeouts and once for a fireworks display as it is the Australian National Day.
Trailing 1-3 in the second set, Li sprained her left ankle for the first time. The problem restricted Li's movement and the defending champion managed to close out the set 6-4.
Li got her ankle struck again in the fourth game of the deciding set while she was leading 2-1. Li fell and hit her head hard on the court, forcing doctors to check her for signs of concussion before letting her to move.
"My head touched the floor. And for two seconds I couldn't really see anything. It was totally black," said Li. "Of course it was a little bit sad when I lost the final. But if I look back to the beginning of the year until now, I still have to say I'm proud of myself. I really felt that I was back to the tennis court again."
"It's a tough match. Azarenka is world No. 1 and defending champion. I think she played better than I did in today's important match, so that's why she can win the title," Li added.
Li, the crowd favorite of the final, started the first set with a double-fault. The finalists exchanged breaks in the first set before Li held and broke Azarenka to go 3-1 ahead. Li served for the first set at 5-4 but crumbled and was broken to love. Azarenka's errors in the very next game handed her opponent the first set as the Belarusian double-faulted on set point.
After her second medical treatment, Li went back and took Azarenka to break point before the Belarusian held serve. Li was then easily broken on her next service game, setting the stage for Azarenka to close out the match.
"I will always keep very special memories of this court and it will be in my heart forever," said Azarenka who successfully defended her Australian Open title and retain the world No. 1 ranking after winning the final.
"Unfortunately, you have to go through some rough patches to achieve great things. That's what makes it so special for me. I went through that, and I'm still able to kiss that beautiful trophy," said the Belarusian who burst into tears after the victory.
It is the second time for Li to miss the Australian Open title. She lost to Kim Clijsters of Belgium in the 2011 final.