Li Na Wins Inaugural Shenzhen Title

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Li Na Wins Inaugural Shenzhen Title

By Erik Gudris

(January 5th, 2013) -- China's Li Na gave the fans in Shenzhen more drama that they probably would have liked before she rallied in the final set to win the inguargural Shenzhen Longgang Gemdale Open title.

Klara Zakopalova, who had beaten Li Na in two out of their last three meetings, at first didn't look all that comfortable playing in only her third career WTA final. Li won the opening set 6-3 and looked poised to make it an early afternoon.

But the second set saw Li lose timing on her shots and that allowed Zakopalova to easily run away with the set 6-1.

The deciding set proved to be much closer even though Li found her game early on to open up a 5-2 lead. Zakopalova closed the gap to 5-all and seemed ready to send the match into a final tiebreak. But Li lifted her game at the right time to finally close out her opponent at the match 6-3, 1-6, 7-5.

Shenzhen is Li's seventh career WTA title and she hopes the win will give her confidence heading into Melbourne.

"Klara played well and I managed my mood swings well, and I'm glad I made it," Li told WTA.com afterwards. "Winning the title certainly helps boost my confidence for the coming weeks, but it also depends on how I'm playing on the courts. Confidence itself won't guarantee a win. But I'm very happy to win and it was a great tournament - I believe it will get even better in future years."

Li will rise to No. 6 in the world on Monday while Zakopalova will be rewarded for efforts this week by moving up to a new career high ranking.

(Photo Credit: Shenzhen Open)