Li Na rallies to beat Safarova in third round of Australian Open

Melbourne, Jan 17 (IANS): Two-time finalist Li Na saved a match point before clawing back to record a three-set victory over Czech Lucie Safarova in the third round of the Australian Open here Friday.

The Chinese fourth seed, a finalist in 2011 and last year, won 1-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3 in two and a half hours to set up a clash with Russian 22nd seed Ekaterina Makarova for a place in the quarterfinals, reports Xinhua.

Li served inconsistently and failed to take advantage of key break-point chances for much of the first two sets.

But she dominated the tie-breaker, then broke the 24th-seeded Safarova in the eighth game of the deciding set before serving out.

“In the beginning she played very nice, very good and it was tough to find any rhythm,” Li said of her opponent.

“I’m happy I was able to fight and win the match. I just tried to play at the baseline and move the ball around the court.”