From SportAsia
Sam Stosur beat Li Na 6-4, 6-3 in the opening match of the BNP Paribas Showdown at the Hong Kong Velodrome, where the World No. 2 racked up 16 double faults. Photo: AFP.
Grown men were almost falling out of their seats to get a photo of Li Na, but the World No. 2 ultimately disappointed her Hong Kong fans when she racked up 16 double faults on her way to losing 6-4, 6-3 to Australian Sam Stosur in Monday night’s BNP Paribas Showdown.
Lleyton Hewitt made it an Australian double at the Hong Kong Velodrome when the former World No. 1 beat current World No. 5 Tomas Berdych 6-4, 7-5 as the city hosted the first of three major World Tennis Day exhibitions, with events in London and New York set to follow.
Stosur, 29, had won all six of her previous meetings against Li, although the pair had not played since the 2011 WTA Championships, when the Aussie won 6-1, 6-0.
Li, who turned 32 last Wednesday, looked to be the pre-match favourite after winning her second Grand Slam at January’s Australian Open, rising to a career-high ranking of No. 2 and with the backing of the majority of the crowd. However, it was Stosur who led for most of the match and fully deserved her victory.
“It was great fun playing tonight. I think I played well. We always have a good match with each other,” Stosur said, before touching on the evening’s main talking point.
“Tonight her serve was a little bit inconsistent. She hit a lot of double faults. I don’t know what she served like in the Australian Open; she must have served pretty well! She has changed her technique a little bit, but look: sometimes you have a great day, sometimes you don’t. That’s tennis.”
The World No. 17 broke Li’s serve in the opening game and led 2-0 and 3-1 before the Chinese star pulled it back to 4-4.
Li was soon serving for the ninth game at 40-0, but lost the next four points – two from double faults – before Stosur eventually won a long six-deuce game. The Australian then held her serve to take the first set, which featured seven double faults by her opponent.
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