China's first-ever hopes to make the final of the women's singles at the Australian Open were snapped Thursday as two of China's top players were knocked out of the semifinals.

Li Na maintained her on-par form that boosted her victory over Venus Williams yesterday. But a strong performance by Serena Williams undercut all of Li's efforts, who narrowly lost to the top-seed American 7-6, 7-6.

However with 900 tour points bonus for her berth in the top four of a Grand Slam event, the 16th-seeded Li becomes the first Chinese player to reach the top ten in the WTA rankings.

In another game, Zheng Jie failed to seek any opportunity in front of the former world No.1 Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne, conceding 1-6/0-6 to her rival, who has achieved a convincing winning streak with a wild card at the first Grand Slam event she played after her comeback last September.

The final will be staged Saturday.

(CRIENGLISH.com January 28, 2010)