Who's hot, who's not in China Sports (Week 4)

Millions of Chinese tennis fans may have been disappointed after Li Na was stunned by Kim Clijsters 2-1 in Melbourne on Spring Festival's eve.

The re-match of last year's finalists will go down as a game to remember. But sadly for Li Na, this time round it was the Belgian who became the well-deserved heroine.

The drama began as Clijsters suffered an unexpected left ankle injury serving at 30-30 and 3-3 in the first set. Li Na, despite being a bundle of nerves as it was the second time in a row that her opponents twisted their ankles during a game, claimed the set 6-4.

The CCTV color commentator blurted out that Clijsters could withdraw from the game as her injury could worsen. His speculation was partially confirmed by the defending champion after the game. Clijsters said the idea of retiring at the Australian Open ran through her mind but in the end she decided against it.

"I said in my mind, 'Keep fighting. You never know what happens on the other side of the court," she said.

Her movements were obviously slowed after the second set but she played the game with composure and plotted an excellent strategy, hitting the ball at wider angles and giving up some tough return shots deliberately.

Li, on the other side, appeared to be affected by Clijsters's injury and change of game style. Her confidence slackened as the errors piled up.

The last draw came at the second set tiebreaker when Li led 6-2, but she squandered all of the four match points as Clijsters reeled off six points to take the set and escape a fourth round exit.

Li's morality became a complete meltdown at the early third set, trailing 1-5. The desperate NO5 seed then managed to resume to regular form and narrow the deficit to 4-5. But it was too late after Clijsters won the tenth and closed out the match after 2 hours and 23 minutes.

My spin: A good lesson for Li Na, who still can't command her temper during the game, as opposed to what Clijsters displayed today. Li Na was a point way from a perfect revenge, but she ended up in embarrassment, an inevitable result if one fails to give their best efforts. Approaching her 30th birthday next month, Li Na, the first player from China to win a Grand Slam singles title, does not have much time to complete her game, on both skill and mental levels.