Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland unleashes a backhand against Li Na. Source: AFP
AGNIESZKA Radwanska's peerless early season form has continued, the Pole moving into the final of the Sydney International with a straight sets win over Li Na today.
Radwanska was too precise for Na, completing a 6-3 6-4 win at Sydney Olympic Park.
It has been a scintillating run in the new season for Radwanska, who took out the Auckland tournament last week.
She's now won eight matches in a row and outside of Serena Williams is starting to look like one of the next line of players capable of winning the Australian Open.
It all looked fairly elementary for the 2012 Wimbledon runner-up until things tightened late in the second set.
Na, no stranger to a comeback after winning the 2011 Sydney International in straight sets after finding herself down 5-0 in the first set against Kim Clijsters, threatened to push the match into a decider.
After having her opportunities midway through the second set, Na fought her way back from a break down when Radwanska served for the match.
Down 5-4 but on serve, Na saved seven match points across the two games but was ultimately broken straight back to lose the match.
The top seed and world No.4 Radwanska will play the winner of the Dominika Cibulkova-Angelique Kerber match next up on court.
South Africa's Kevin Anderson. Source: Getty Images
In the men's draw, tall timber Kevin Anderson will be looking to cut down a few big names at next week's Australian Open after the unseeded South African continued his run of good form to reach the semi-finals in Sydney.
The 2.03m Anderson, who is only shaded by the likes John Isner and Ivo Karlovic as the tallest man on the ATP tour, proved too strong for Denis Istomin in their quarter-final today, downing the Uzbek 6-4 6-3.
He'll meet Julien Benneteau in a semi-final tomorrow after the Frenchman eased to a 6-4 6-2 win over American qualifier Ryan Harrison.
Anderson has enjoyed a strong start to the year, winning two from three of his singles matches at the Hopman Cup, the only loss at the hands of world No.8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in two tiebreaker sets.
The Hopman Cup proved something of a mixed blessing for Anderson, who chose to play in Perth ahead of the ATP tournament in Brisbane.
Good results in Brisbane could have seen the world No.36 move into the top 32 available players for the Australian Open, earning a seeding at Melbourne Park in the process.
"It was pretty tricky,'' Anderson said of deciding where to start his year.
"As things turned out I wasn't too far off from being seeded at the Australian. So I think that was biggest downside from not playing.
"But I chose to play (the Hopman Cup) before I knew that (possibility).''
With a booming serve and capable volley, Anderson looms as a player the seeds will be looking to avoid in the early rounds in Melbourne.
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