Radwanska Downs Li to Set Up Lisicki Clash

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Radwanska Downs Li to Set Up Lisicki Clash

By Chris Oddo

(July 2, 2013) -- Fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska is one match away from her second consecutive trip to the Wimbledon final after a hotly contested 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-2 victory over sixth-seeded Li Na of China.

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Radwanska needed eight match points but finally served out the match, nailing a line-kissing forehand that Li could only lob long.

Li missed a big opportunity to take the first set when she hit what would have been an ace on set point, but failed to challenge an errant line call that went against her.

She would drop the game and go on to lose the set in a tiebreaker.

Li hit 58 winners on the afternoon, but Radwanska's defense forced her to go for the lines, goading the hard-hitting baseliner into 40 unforced errors.

Radwanska, meanwhile, was her usual tidy, crafty self, committing only 18 errors to go along with 32 winners.

After dropping the second set 6-4, Radwanska rallied to jump out to a 5-1 lead in the decider. Li held serve to put the pressure back on Radwanska, than saved seven match points before finally yielding to the determined fourth-seed on the eighth.

Radwanska's victory sets up a clash with Wimbledon guru Sabine Lisicki in the semifinals. The pair have split their previous two matches, both on hard courts.

“We know each other since the juniors,” Radwanska said. “It will be a great challenge playing on the grass against each other, so really looking forward to it.”

As for as the strapping on both of Radwanska's legs, she downplayed any concerns, saying, “Just too much tennis in the last few days... I think it's a good problem to have, so I'm just going to keep going and try my best in the semifinal.

(Photo Credit: Stephen White/CameraSport)