Radwanska Remains Undefeated with Win over Li

Agnieszka Radwanska is off to a hot start in 2013. She'll try to win her second title of the year in Sydney against Dominika Cibulkova in the final.

By Chris Oddo

(January 10, 2012) -- In a heavily anticipated pre-Australian Open clash, World No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska took out World No. 6 Li Na 6-3, 6-4 at the Apia International in Sydney, Australia on Thursday.

The last two title winners in Sydney have gone on to contest the Australian Open final, and Radwanska, who reached her maiden Grand Slam final at Wimbledon last season, will bid for a shot at the title when she faces Dominika Cibulkova in the final.

Cibulkova outlasted Angelique Kerber 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 to notch her third top ten win of the week. She also defeated Petra Kvitova and Sara Errani earlier in the week.

Both Li and Radwanska entered the semifinal undefeated and with a title under their belt, but it was Radwanska who appeared to be the only hot player as Li was erratic from start to finish. Li had trouble finding the court and Radwanska played her usual brand of maddeningly consistent tennis colored with creative angles and opportunistic forays to the net.

Li committed 46 unforced errors against only 14 for Radwanska for the match.

“It’s good to have revenge, finally,” Radwanska said afterwards.

The loss allowed Radwanska to end a personal three-match losing streak against Li and propelled her to her 16th career final. She has an 11-4 record in finals, and owns a 3-0 record versus Cibulkova, who is 2-4 in finals over the course of her career.

(Photo Credit: AP)