The Women’s Semis

For sure, we have a women’s final that includes the two players who belong there this go ’round–Li Na and Dominika Cibulkova.

Li Na’s crosscourt backhand was electric all match, a thing of beauty and no doubt terrifying to Genie Bouchard who watched it zing by her again and again.  The start of the match saw Li go up 5-0 before the crowd was even settled into their seats, and though Bouchard fought hard to gain a couple of games and try to make the set competitive, Li served it out to take the set 6-2.

The second set was a bit more competitive as Bouchard seemed to grow more comfortable to the pace of Li’s groundies, and the two traded multiple breaks over many tight, multiple deuce games until Li finally held her ground and then finished off the match with yet another crosscourt laser.  Great tourney for Bouchard, and surely, she’s one to keep an eye on going forward.

In the second semi, Cibulkova continued to brim with confidence as she pushed the crafty Aggie Radwanska all over the court with her punishing groundstrokes.  The diminutive Cibulkova packs surprising power off both sides, and now, it seems, her confidence is at a level equal to the strength of her physical game.  The variety of Aggie’s game that seemed to so effectively frustrate Victoria Azarenka in her quarterfinal match had little effect here as Dominka blasted winner after winner.

It should prove a very interesting women’s final from an emotional perspective.  Lots of questions:  Can Cibulkova carry that self-confidence into her first slam final, or will she backstep in the manner of Sabine Lisicki at last year’s Wimby?  Li Na, who is no stranger to moments of self-doubt, will be the clear favorite, so will she handle that well and stay calm?  Who will be the first to crack, and who will be better able to cope and recover during the match?  Physically, you’d have to imagine that both players will be strong and bring the games that got them there.  This match will be played mostly between the ears, and I for one am looking forward to watching it play out.