MELBOURNE // Kim Clijsters and Li Na will meet in a rematch of last year's Australian Open final after a dramatic end to the women's third round Friday.
After Clijsters, the defending champion, reached the fourth round with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova, Li went through when the Spaniard Anabel Medina Garrigues retired in tears after injuring her ankle.
Clijsters will need to improve on yesterday's effort if she wants to advance much farther in the tournament.
The match was closer than the score suggested, with Hantuchova squandering, through simple mistakes, several chances to apply pressure the 11th-seeded Belgian. Clijsters broke Hantuchova five times in the match, but was broken twice herself as she made only 56 per cent of her first serves.
Clijsters also made 18 unforced errors in a sometimes sloppy display but was rescued by her ability to smash winners from all over the court, 27 of them compared with 12 from Hantuchova.
"I think, in general, the type of player that I had in front of me who hits the ball very low over the net where you're going to have to step in, there's going to be a higher unforced-error count," Clijsters said.
"But … I still felt like I was hitting enough winners."
Li was leading 2-0 in the first set when Medina Garrigues agonisingly turned her right ankle during a baseline rally.
After a medical time-out she tried to continue but lost the next game and retired during the fourth.
The injury ensured Li's match with Clijsters, the first meeting between the two since last year's final, won by the Belgian in three sets.
Earlier, the top seed Caroline Wozniacki and third-ranked Victoria Azarenka both reached the fourth round without dropping a set as they target their first grand slam championships.
Wozniacki cruised past Romania's Monica Niculescu 6-2, 6-2, but Azarenka was handed her first real test of the tournament before beating Germany's Mona Barthel 6-2, 6-4.
The world No 1, who could lose her grasp on the top ranking here, will take on the former world No 1 Jelena Jankovic, who easily beat the American Christina McHale 6-2, 6-0.
Roll of honour 2019-2020
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership
UAE Premiership
}Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes
UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II
UAE Division Two
Winners: Barrelhouse
Runners up: RAK Rugby
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMohammed%20Alnamara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMicrofinance%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E16%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFamily%20offices%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The biog
Name: Gul Raziq
From: Charsadda, Pakistan
Family: Wife and six children
Favourite holes at Al Ghazal: 15 and 8
Golf Handicap: 6
Childhood sport: cricket
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The%20specs
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The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
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Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Specs
Engine: 2-litre
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 255hp
Torque: 273Nm
Price: Dh240,000
The biog
Born: near Sialkot, Pakistan, 1981
Profession: Driver
Family: wife, son (11), daughter (8)
Favourite drink: chai karak
Favourite place in Dubai: The neighbourhood of Khawaneej. “When I see the old houses over there, near the date palms, I can be reminded of my old times. If I don’t go down I cannot recall my old times.”
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi