Jan 22 (Reuters) - Kim Clijsters was courage personified as the defending champion shook off a painful ankle injury and saved four match points to overhaul China's Li Na 4-6 7-6 6-4 and reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Sunday.
The big-hearted Belgian rolled her left ankle at 3-3 in the first set on a scorching day at Rod Laver Arena but rejoined the battle after a lengthy medical time-out with her foot thickly taped.
In a re-match of last year's finalists, champion Clijsters stared at the abyss when 6-2 down in the second set tiebreak but reeled off six points in a row to take the set and spark a rapturous ovation from the stands.
The hard-hitting Li slumped to 4-0 down in the decider then recovered gallantly to trail 5-4 but Clijsters held to close out the match and keep her hopes alive of a fifth grand slam title in her farewell year on tour.
"It has to be (one of my best comebacks)," Clijsters said red-faced in a courtside interview after raising her arms in triumph to acknowledge the roaring crowd. "I can't believe I won.
"I knew before the match that it was going to be a tough match, physically, mentally.
"It was amazing to get through and to fight and probably not with my best tennis."
French Open champion Li took the first set of last year's final against the Belgian but was once again left crestfallen after missing a golden chance to put her Melbourne Park nemesis away.
After saving three match points, Clijsters appeared to suffer a mental lapse on the fourth when she attempted a speculative drop-shot that bounced up and begged to be put away.
Fifth-seeded Li charged in but her attempted winner was equally inept and allowed Clijsters to poke a lob over her head to save the point.
The Chinese subsequently crumbled under the pressure, spraying two backhand shots to lose the set before her serve collapsed as Clijsters charged 5-1 ahead in the decider.
Li dug deep to break back and took Clijsters to deuce when she was serving for the match, but surrendered the match after netting a backhand.
Clijsters will play the winner of top seed Caroline Wozniacki and former world number one Jelena Jankovic who play in the evening session at Rod Laver Arena.
Oh, the drama of this match, seriously! I honestly thought Kim was done after she rolled on her ankle. And I felt sadness but also a lot of admiration for her continuing on despite it all.
When we got to the tiebreak and Kim went down four match points, I held my breath, and was on the edge of my seat. This was such a topsy-turvy match, but so damn entertaining nonetheless worth staying up till 2am.
Sure a lot of people will say that the match was Li Na's to lose, which is partly true, she went away mentally in the 3rd set (and in the tiebreak) and looked down and out before fighting back.
But the majority of the credit has to go to Kim for just hanging in there in a tense situation not once but twice!. That's the difference between players and champions I guess they just find a way.
Haven't seen that much fighting spirit from Kim in a while. Assuming her ankle is ok I hope this match spurs her on into the semis. Thanks Aussie Kim for making this one memorable! :).
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