Seven months after giving retirement serious thought, Li Na made it third time lucky in an Australian Open final with a 7-6 (3), 6-0 win over Dominika Cibulkova to become the oldest women’s champion here in the Open era. Li, who turns 32 next month, lost finals to Kim Clijsters in 2011 and to Victoria Azarenka last year. In between, she won the 2011 French Open in one of the many firsts she’s established for Chinese tennis. She first thanked her agent, Max, ”for making me rich,” her coach Carlos Rodriguez and then her husband, former coach and constant traveling companion, Shan Jiang.

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