Li Na of China celebrates after defeating Eugenie Bouchard of Canada during their semifinal at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014. AP
MELBOURNE — Li Na has advanced to her third Australian Open final and will have to beat Dominika Cibulkova to win her first title at Melbourne Park.
No. 4-seeded Li had a 6-2, 6-4 win over 19-year-old Canadian Eugenie Bouchard in the first semifinal Thursday before No. 20-seeded Cibulkova trounced 2012 Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwanska 6-1, 6-2.
Li, the 2011 French Open champion, was the only major winner and the highest-ranked player in the semifinals after the fourth-round upsets of Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova and defending champion Victoria Azarenka’s quarterfinal loss to Radwanska.
Cibulkova has been the biggest surprise of the tournament, reaching her first Grand Slam final. The diminutive Slovakian has won all but one of her matches in straight sets — her upset fourth-round win over Maria Sharapova went to three.