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Melbourne: Kim Clijsters won the Australian Open Saturday to claim her fourth Grand Slam title, with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over China's Li Na, and then fulfilled a promise by publicly thanking the local dentist who mended her chipped tooth a few weeks ago.
The Belgian dropped the first set but reversed the tide against inspired Li ahead of the February 3 Chinese New Year. Clijsters, her husband and player box watching a giggling post-match performance, took special pains to single out the unidentified dentist who fixed the tooth she chipped at an airport.
'The dentist in Melbourne fixed me up so fast and quickly. I promised I'd thank him if I got to the final,' said the three-time US Open champion who claimed her fourth major title from eight finals after losing her first four.
Clijsters, 27, also singled out her uncle, whose pea-green pair of pants also brought her luck in the year-end final last October in Doha.
'I told him if he came back to a tournament he had to wear those pants, they brought me good luck,' said the Belgian, who added: 'I finally feel that you can call me 'Aussie Kim' since I've now won the title here.'
Clijsters, once engaged to Aussie player Lleyton Hewitt, has been tagged with that nickname for years even after the pair split.
'I'm still shaky,' admitted the winner. 'I've played so much against Li, we've had some tough battles. I hope we meet again in a coupe of Grand Slam finals.'
The win in two hours, five minutes also denied the 28-year-old Li a place in history after she became the first from her country to win a WTA title in 2004 and first to a Top 20 and then a Top 10 ranking.
The Asian won the first set in 40 minutes but could not withstand the comeback from Clijsters, who finished with 22 winners and breaks on seven of 17 chances.
Li, 28, who had joked this week that her husband-coach kept her awake with his snoring, paid tribute to his support in her victory speech.
'I make jokes about this, but it doesn't matter if you're fat, skinny or ugly, I still love you,' said the runner-up. 'Winning or losing is not so important - I found my best tennis here. I wish everyone a happy New Year.'
Clijsters will rise from third to second in the WTA rankings Monday. Li will move from 11th to a career-high number seven.
The Belgian started off a storm by winning the first eight points for a 2-0 lead before Li got into the game and won six of the next games to take the first set.
But Li could not keep up the momentum as Clijsters rallied. The Belgian won six games in a row from 3-2 down in the second to 2-0 up in the third, and 10 of the last 13 games to clinch her 41st career title.
Clijsters had reached the final without dropping a set for the third time (2003 US Open, 2004 Australian Open).
Li suffered her first defeat of the year after 11 consecutive wins, including one over Clijsters in the Sydney final a fortnight ago.
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The Belgian dropped the first set but reversed the tide against inspired Li ahead of the February 3 Chinese New Year. Clijsters, her husband and player box watching a giggling post-match performance, took special pains to single out the unidentified dentist who fixed the tooth she chipped at an airport.
'The dentist in Melbourne fixed me up so fast and quickly. I promised I'd thank him if I got to the final,' said the three-time US Open champion who claimed her fourth major title from eight finals after losing her first four.
Clijsters, 27, also singled out her uncle, whose pea-green pair of pants also brought her luck in the year-end final last October in Doha.
'I told him if he came back to a tournament he had to wear those pants, they brought me good luck,' said the Belgian, who added: 'I finally feel that you can call me 'Aussie Kim' since I've now won the title here.'
Clijsters, once engaged to Aussie player Lleyton Hewitt, has been tagged with that nickname for years even after the pair split.
'I'm still shaky,' admitted the winner. 'I've played so much against Li, we've had some tough battles. I hope we meet again in a coupe of Grand Slam finals.'
The win in two hours, five minutes also denied the 28-year-old Li a place in history after she became the first from her country to win a WTA title in 2004 and first to a Top 20 and then a Top 10 ranking.
The Asian won the first set in 40 minutes but could not withstand the comeback from Clijsters, who finished with 22 winners and breaks on seven of 17 chances.
Li, 28, who had joked this week that her husband-coach kept her awake with his snoring, paid tribute to his support in her victory speech.
'I make jokes about this, but it doesn't matter if you're fat, skinny or ugly, I still love you,' said the runner-up. 'Winning or losing is not so important - I found my best tennis here. I wish everyone a happy New Year.'
Clijsters will rise from third to second in the WTA rankings Monday. Li will move from 11th to a career-high number seven.
The Belgian started off a storm by winning the first eight points for a 2-0 lead before Li got into the game and won six of the next games to take the first set.
But Li could not keep up the momentum as Clijsters rallied. The Belgian won six games in a row from 3-2 down in the second to 2-0 up in the third, and 10 of the last 13 games to clinch her 41st career title.
Clijsters had reached the final without dropping a set for the third time (2003 US Open, 2004 Australian Open).
Li suffered her first defeat of the year after 11 consecutive wins, including one over Clijsters in the Sydney final a fortnight ago.
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