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2014 Li Na tennis season

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2014 Li Na tennis season
Li at the 2014 Miami Masters
Full nameLi Na
Country China
Calendar prize money$3,409,885
Singles
Season record28–7 (80%)
Calendar titles2
Current rankingNo. 6
Ranking change from previous yearDecrease 3
Grand Slam & significant results
Australian OpenW
French Open1R
Wimbledon3R
US OpenA
Injuries
InjuriesKnee injury (US Open Series)
Last updated on: 8 September 2014.

The 2014 Li Na tennis season officially began on 30 December with the start of the 2014 WTA Tour as the defending champion of the 2014 Shenzhen Open. In July, Li ended her nearly 2 year collaboration with coach Carlos Rodríguez. Li announced her retirement from professional tennis on 19 September citing recurring and worsening knee injuries. Li also made the longest winning streak in 2014 WTA Tour with 13.

Yearly summary

Early hard court season and Australian Open

Shenzhen Open

Li Na started her season as the defending champion at the 2014 Shenzhen Open. She defeated former world number two and wildcard Vera Zvonareva and Nadiia Kichenok in the first two rounds, before being challenged by Monica Niculescu in the quarterfinals, winning in three tight sets. She then defeated rising German Annika Beck in the semifinals to reach the final for the second consecutive year, where she defeated compatriot Peng Shuai in straight sets, marking the first successful title defense of her career.

Australian Open

Instead of more preparation in Sydney, Li chose to compete at the Australian Open directly this year, at which she had been a finalist twice in the last three years. Intent on going one better, Li routed current junior top 2 players Ana Konjuh and Belinda Bencic in the first two rounds. After quickly losing an error strewn first set against Lucie Šafářová, she fended off a match point when trailing 5–6 in the second before rebounding in the tiebreak and decisive set to avoid the upset. She finished the match with 17 winners to 50 unforced errors. In her fourth round encounter with Ekaterina Makarova, Li delivered the third bagel in the tournament, easing through with a straight set victory. Li followed this up with another dominant performance against first-time Australian Open quarterfinalist Flavia Pennetta to set up a clash with teenager Eugenie Bouchard in the last four. Li easily won the first set having won 20 of the first 23 points to lead 5–0. Down 0–2 in the second set, she reeled off six of the next eight games to close out the Canadian. She reached the final for the third time, where she faced maiden Grand Slam finalist Dominika Cibulková. After winning the first set in a tiebreak, Li stormed through the second set at love to claim her second Grand Slam title, thus becoming the first Asian Australian Open champion and sixth woman to win the title after being match point down.[1][2]

Her post-match speech became one of the most talked-about moments in the event. Because of her limited English, she jokingly remarked that her agent should "make [her] rich" and her husband is "lucky" to find her before thanking the crowd and everyone involved.[3]

Middle East series

Qatar Open

Since Li missed out on last year edition's of the Qatar Open due to injury, she had no points to defend. She won her second round match against Magdaléna Rybáriková before being upset by qualifier and world No. 134 Petra Cetkovská in three sets, her first loss of the season. However, she reached a new career-high of world No. 2 after the tournament as a result of defending champion and current world No. 2 Victoria Azarenka's withdrawal.

North American hard court season

Indian Wells Masters

After missing Indian Wells in 2013, Li was the first seed this year in the absence of Serena Williams, the first time she was seeded first at a Premier Mandatory event. She enjoyed a first round bye before dispatching compatriot Zheng Jie, Karolína Plíšková and Aleksandra Wozniak in convincing fashion. In the quarterfinals she faced her first top 20 opponent of the season in Dominika Cibulková, a rematch of the Australian Open final. After Li took the opening set comfortably, Cibulková quickly built a 5–1 lead in the second due a plethora of unforced errors off Li's racquet. Li managed to recover three games but was unable to salvage the set. After the pair traded breaks early in the third, Cibulková held double break point with Li serving at 3-all. From there Li won 12 of the next 16 points to clinch the final three games and the victory after 2 hours and 36 minutes of play, maintaining her perfect record against the Slovak. With this win, Li advanced to her first Indian Wells semifinal since 2007.[4] Facing 20th seed Flavia Pennetta in the semifinal, she was defeated in straight sets.[5]

Miami Masters

Li received a bye in the first round of Miami Masters. In the second round she was bound to face Alisa Kleybanova, however the Russian withdrew shortly prior to the match due to a viral illness. In her third round encounter with Madison Keys, she erased two set points in the first set before forcing a tiebreak, which she won. In the second set she won five consecutive games from 0–2 down and eventually took the match handily. She then had an easy win against the 15th seed Carla Suárez Navarro, setting up a quartferfinal with Caroline Wozniacki. After Li burst out to a 4–1 lead in the first set, Wozniacki won four games in a row to go up 5–4, before Li fired back with three games of her own to take the set. The Dane was up 5–3 in the second set before Li reeled off four consecutive games to advance. In the semifinal, she met Dominika Cibulková for the third time this year. Li blew two set points when serving for the first set on her first attempt at 5–3, but successfully closed it out on her second. From 2–all in the second set, Li lost 6 games in a row to lose the set and fall behind 0–2 in the decider, before upping her game to seize six of the last seven games to seal the win, securing a place in her maiden Premier Mandatory final, where she was defeated by world No. 1 Serena Williams in straight sets despite having a set point in the first set.

Clay court season

Stuttgart Open

Li withdrew from this year edition of Stuttgart Open before the tournament.

Madrid Open

Li started her clay season at the Madrid Open, where she lost to Madison Keys in the first round last year. She defeated Kirsten Flipkens and countrywoman Zheng Jie in the first two rounds without much trouble. In the third round match against Sloane Stephens, Li surrendered the first set but regained form to earn a place in the quarter final. She was defeated by eventual champion Maria Sharapova in three sets, after winning the first set comfortably.

Italian Open

At the Italian Open where she was sent home by former world No.1 Jelena Janković last year, Li received a bye for first round and defeated Australian Casey Dellacqua in the second. She then defeated Sam Stosur for the first time after 6 encounters in her career. In the quarterfinals against Sara Errani, Li suffered her first loss to the home favourite.

French Open

The former champion suffered her earliest loss at the event to Kristina Mladenovic. She was the first Grand Slam champion to lose in the opening round of the following Grand Slam since Petra Kvitová did so at the 2011 US Open.

Grass court season

Wimbledon

The only grass court event Li participated in this year was the Wimbledon Championships. She easily defeated Paula Kania and Yvonne Meusburger in the first two rounds. She then bowed out to Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová in two tiebreak sets.

US Open Series

Li withdrew from the 2014 Rogers Cup, 2014 Western & Southern Open and 2014 US Open this year due to a knee injury, at all of which she was a defending semifinalist. She surrendered her world No. 2 ranking to Simona Halep following the Rogers Cup.[6]

After skipping the entire US Open Series due to a left knee injury, Li officially announced her retirement from the sport on 19 September 2014, also withdrawing from the tournaments in Wuhan (her hometown) and Beijing. She was ranked no.6 by the Women's Tennis Association at the time of her retirement.[7][8][9]

All matches

Singles matches

Tournament Match # Round Opponent Rank Result Score
Shenzhen Open
Shenzhen, China
WTA International
Hard, outdoor
30 December 2013 – 4 January 2014
1 1R Russia Vera Zvonareva N/A Win 7–5, 6–3
2 2R Ukraine Nadiia Kichenok #101 Win 6–1, 6–4
3 QF Romania Monica Niculescu #59 Win 7–5, 4–6, 6–4
4 SF Germany Annika Beck #58 Win 6–1, 6–3
5 F China Peng Shuai #42 Win (1) 6–4, 7–5
Australian Open
Melbourne, Australia
Grand Slam
Hard, outdoor
13–26 January 2014
6 1R Croatia Ana Konjuh #241 Win 6–2, 6–0
7 2R Switzerland Belinda Bencic #187 Win 6–0, 7–6(7–5)
8 3R Czech Republic Lucie Šafářová #26 Win 1–6, 7–6(7–2), 6–3
9 4R Russia Ekaterina Makarova #22 Win 6–2, 6–0
10 QF Italy Flavia Pennetta #29 Win 6–2, 6–2
11 SF Canada Eugenie Bouchard #31 Win 6–2, 6–4
12 F Slovakia Dominika Cibulková #24 Win (2) 7–6(7–3), 6–0
Qatar Ladies Open
Doha, Qatar
WTA Premier 5
Hard, outdoor
10–16 February 2014
1R Bye
13 2R Slovakia Magdaléna Rybáriková #32 Win 6–1, 5–7, 6–2
14 3R Czech Republic Petra Cetkovská #134 Loss 6–7(2–7), 6–2, 4–6
BNP Paribas Open
Indian Wells, United States
WTA Premier Mandatory
Hard, outdoor
3–16 March 2014
1R Bye
15 2R China Zheng Jie #58 Win 6–1, 7–5
16 3R Czech Republic Karolína Plíšková #67 Win 6–3, 6–4
17 4R Canada Aleksandra Wozniak #241 Win 6–1, 6–4
18 QF Slovakia Dominika Cibulková #11 Win 6–3, 4–6, 6–3
19 SF Italy Flavia Pennetta #21 Loss 6–7(5–7), 3–6
Sony Open Tennis
Miami, United States
WTA Premier Mandatory
Hard, outdoor
17–30 March 2014
1R Bye
2R Russia Alisa Kleybanova #112 Walkover N/A
20 3R United States Madison Keys #38 Win 7–6(7–3), 6–3
21 4R Spain Carla Suárez Navarro #17 Win 6–0, 6–2
22 QF Denmark Caroline Wozniacki #18 Win 7–5, 7–5
23 SF Slovakia Dominika Cibulková #11 Win 7–5, 2–6, 6–3
24 F United States Serena Williams #1 Loss 5–7, 1–6
Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
Stuttgart, Germany
WTA Premier
Clay, indoor
21–27 April 2014
Withdrew
Mutua Madrid Open
Madrid, Spain
WTA Premier Mandatory
Clay, outdoor
3–11 May 2014
25 1R Belgium Kirsten Flipkens #23 Win 6–1, 7–6(9–7)
26 2R China Zheng Jie #60 Win 6–2, 6–3
27 3R United States Sloane Stephens #17 Win 2–6, 6–3, 6–2
28 QF Russia Maria Sharapova #9 Loss 6–2, 6–7(5–7), 3–6
Internazionali BNL d'Italia
Rome, Italy
WTA Premier 5
Clay, outdoor
12–18 May 2014
1R Bye
29 2R Australia Casey Dellacqua #53 Win 6–1, 6–4
30 3R Australia Samantha Stosur #18 Win 6–3, 6–1
31 QF Italy Sara Errani #11 Loss 3–6, 6–4, 2–6
French Open
Paris, France
Grand Slam
Clay, outdoor
25 May – 8 June 2014
32 1R France Kristina Mladenovic #104 Loss 5–7, 6–3, 1–6
Wimbledon
London, United Kingdom
Grand Slam
Grass, outdoor
23 June – 7 July 2014
33 1R Poland Paula Kania #175 Win 7–5, 6–2
34 2R Austria Yvonne Meusburger #38 Win 6–2, 6–2
35 3R Czech Republic Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová #43 Loss 6–7(5–7), 6–7(5–7)

Tournament Schedule

Singles schedule

Li's 2014 singles tournament schedule is as follows:

Date Championship Location Category Surface Prev. result Prev. points New points Outcome
30 December 2013–
4 January 2014
Shenzhen Open Shenzhen (CHN) WTA International Hard W 280 280 Winner
defeated Peng Shuai, 6–4, 7–5
13 January 2014–
26 January 2014
Australian Open Melbourne (AUS) Grand Slam Hard F 1400 2000 Winner
defeated Dominika Cibulková, 7–6(7–3), 6–0
10 February 2014–
16 February 2014
Qatar Total Open Doha (QAT) WTA Premier 5 Hard DNP 0 105 Third round
lost to Petra Cetkovská, 6–7(2–7), 6–2, 4–6
3 March 2014–
16 March 2014
BNP Paribas Open Indian Wells (USA) WTA Premier Mandatory Hard DNP 0 390 Semifinals
lost to Flavia Pennetta, 6–7(5–7), 3–6
17 March 2014–
30 March 2014
Sony Open Tennis Miami (USA) WTA Premier Mandatory Hard QF 250 650 Final
lost to Serena Williams, 5–7, 1–6
21 April 2014–
27 April 2014
Porsche Tennis Grand Prix Stuttgart (GER) WTA Premier Clay (i) F 320 0 Withdrew
3 May 2014–
11 May 2014
Mutua Madrid Open Madrid (ESP) WTA Premier Mandatory Clay 1R 5 215 Quarterfinals
lost to Maria Sharapova, 6–2, 6–7(5–7), 3–6
12 May 2014–
18 May 2014
Internazionali BNL d'Italia Rome (ITA) WTA Premier 5 Clay 3R 125 190 Quarterfinals
lost to Sara Errani, 3–6, 6–4, 2–6
25 May 2014–
8 June 2014
French Open Paris (FRA) Grand Slam Clay 2R 100 10 First round
lost to Kristina Mladenovic, 5–7, 6–3, 1–6
16 June 2014–
21 June 2014
Aegon International Eastbourne (GBR) WTA Premier Grass QF 120 0 Did Not Participate
23 June 2014–
6 July 2014
Wimbledon London (GBR) Grand Slam Grass QF 500 130 Third round
lost to Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová, 6–7(5–7), 6–7(5–7)
Total year-end points 3970

Yearly records

Head-to-head matchups

Bold indicates that the player was in the Top 10, italics denotes that the player was in the Top 20 (at the time of the match being played). This list is ordered by number of wins to number of losses in chronological order played.

Finals

Singles: 3 (2–1)

Legend
Grand Slams (1–0)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
WTA Premier Mandatory (0–1)
WTA Premier 5 (0–0)
WTA Premier (0–0)
WTA International (1–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (2–1)
Clay (0–0)
Finals by venue
Outdoors (2–1)
Indoors (0–0)
Outcome No. Date Championship Surface Opponent in the final Score in the final
Winner 8. January 4, 2014 Shenzhen Open, China Hard China Peng Shuai 6–4, 7–5
Winner 9. January 25, 2014 Australian Open, Australia Hard Slovakia Dominika Cibulková 7–6(7–3), 6–0
Runner-up 12. March 29, 2014 Sony Open Tennis, United States Hard United States Serena Williams 5–7, 1–6

Earnings

# Event Prize money Year-to-date
1 Shenzhen Open $111,163 $111,163
2 Australian Open $2,349,322 $2,460,485
3 Qatar Total Open $25,135 $2,485,620
4 BNP Paribas Open $225,000 $2,710,620
5 Sony Open Tennis $384,065 $3,094,685
6 Mutua Madrid Open $117,719 $3,212,404
7 Internazionali BNL d'Italia $55,180 $3,267,584
8 French Open $31,634 $3,299,218
9 Wimbledon $110,667 $3,409,885
$3,409,885

Figures in United States dollars (USD) unless noted.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Li Na wins Australian Open final against Dominika Cibulkova – as it happened". Guardian UK. 25 January 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  2. ^ "Li Na beats Dominika Cibulkova to win Australian Open final". BBC Sport. 25 January 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  3. ^ http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/tennis/li-na-gives-the-best-australian-open-victory-speech-ever/story-fnkrowp0-1226810463530
  4. ^ "Li Na Wins Australian Open Rematch". Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  5. ^ "Pennetta to Meet Radwanska for Title". Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  6. ^ "Li Na to sit out of US Open with knee injury". 31 July 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  7. ^ Li Na announces retirement, WTA official website, 19 September 2014
  8. ^ http://www.si.com/tennis/2014/09/18/li-na-retirement-huge-loss-wta-and-tennis
  9. ^ Rothenberg, Ben (19 September 2014). "Li Na, Two-Time Major Winner, Is Retiring With Knee Woes". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 September 2014. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

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