Azarenka beats Li, defends Australian Open title

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) ? Victoria Azarenka had the bulk of the crowd against her. The fireworks were fizzling out, and when she looked over the net she saw Li Na crashing to the court and almost knocking herself out.

Considering the cascading criticism she'd encountered after her previous win, Azarenka didn't need the focus of the Australian Open final to be on another medical timeout.

So after defending her title with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over the sixth-seeded Li in one of the most unusual finals ever at Melbourne Park, Azarenka understandably dropped her racket and cried tears of relief late Saturday night.

She heaved as she sobbed into a towel beside the court, before regaining her composure to collect the trophy.

"It isn't easy, that's for sure, but I knew what I had to do," the 23-year-old Belarusian said. "I had to stay calm. I had to stay positive. I just had to deal with the things that came onto me."

There were a lot of those things squeezed into the 2-hour, 40-minute match. Li, who was playing her second Australian Open final in three years, twisted her ankle and tumbled to the court in the second and third sets.

The second time was on the point immediately after a 10-minute delay for the Australia Day fireworks ? a familiar fixture in downtown Melbourne on Jan. 26, but not usually coinciding with a final.

Li had been sitting in her chair during the break, while Azarenka jogged and swung her racket around before leaving the court to rub some liniment into her legs to keep warm.

The 30-year-old Chinese player had tumbled to the court after twisting her left ankle and had it taped after falling in the fifth game of the second set. Immediately after the fireworks ceased, and with smoke still in the air, she twisted the ankle again, fell and hit the back of her head on the hard court.

The 2011 French Open champion was treated immediately by a tournament doctor and assessed for a concussion in another medical timeout before resuming the match.

"I think I was a little bit worried when I was falling," Li said, in her humorous, self-deprecating fashion. "Because two seconds I couldn't really see anything. It was totally black.

"So when the physio come, she was like, 'Focus on my finger.' I was laughing. I was thinking, 'This is tennis court, not like hospital.'"

Li's injury was obvious and attracted even more support for her from the 15,000-strong crowd.

Azarenka had generated some bad PR by taking a medical timeout after wasting five match points on her own serve in her semifinal win over American teenager Sloane Stephens on Thursday. She came back after the break and finished off Stephens in the next game, later telling an on-court interviewer that she "almost did the choke of the year."

She was accused of gamesmanship and manipulating the rules to get time to regain her composure against Stephens, but defended herself by saying she actually was having difficulty breathing because of a rib injury that needed to be fixed.

That explanation didn't convince everybody. So when she walked onto Rod Laver Arena on Saturday, there were some people who booed, and others who heckled her or mimicked the distinctive hooting sound she makes when she hits the ball.

"Unfortunately, you have to go through some rough patches to achieve great things," she said. "That's what makes it so special for me. I went through that, and I'm still able to kiss that beautiful trophy."

She didn't hold a grudge.

"I was expecting way worse, to be honest. What can you do? You just have to go out there and try to play tennis in the end of the day," she said. "It's a tennis match, tennis battle, final of the Australian Open. I was there to play that.

"The things what happened in the past, I did the best thing I could to explain, and it was left behind me already."

The match contained plenty of nervy moments and tension, and 16 service breaks ? nine for Li. But it also produced plenty of winners and bravery on big points.

Azarenka will retain the No. 1 ranking she's mostly held since her first Grand Slam win in Melbourne last year.

Li moved into the top five and is heartened by a recent trend of Australian runner-ups winning the French Open. She accomplished that in 2011, as did Ana Ivanovic (2008) and Maria Sharapova (2012).

"I wish I can do the same this year, as well," Li said.

Later Saturday, Bob and Mike Bryan won their record 13th Grand Slam men's doubles title, defeating the Dutch team of Robin Haase and Igor Sijsling 6-3, 6-4.

Sunday's men's final features two-time defending champion Novak Djokovic and U.S. Open winner Andy Murray. Djokovic is seeking to become the first man in the Open era to win three titles in a row in Australia.

Azarenka was planning a night of partying to celebrate her second major title, with her friend Redfoo and the Party Rock crew, and was hopeful of scoring some tickets to the men's final.

She said she needed to let her hair down after a draining two weeks and hoped that by being more open and frank in recent times she was clearing up any misconceptions the public had of her.

"When I came first on the tour I kind of was lost a little bit," he said. "I didn't know how to open up my personality. It's very difficult when you're alone. I was independent since I was, you know, 10 years old. It was a little bit scary and I wouldn't show my personality.

"So the (last) couple of years I learned how to open up to people and to share the moments. I wasn't really good before. I hope I got better. It's your judgment."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/azarenka-beats-li-defends-australian-open-title-164301228--spt.html

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Two years since uprising, Egypt braces for more protests

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt marks the second anniversary of the uprising that swept Hosni Mubarak from power with little to celebrate. Deeply divided and facing an economic crisis, the nation is bracing for more protests, but this time against a freely elected leader.

President Mohamed Mursi's opponents plan to march to Tahrir Square on Friday to vent anger at the new Islamist leader and his Muslim Brotherhood backers, whom they accuse of betraying the goals of the January 25 revolution that galvanised Egyptians in a display of national unity that has not been seen since.

"We don't see it as a celebration. This will be a new revolutionary wave that will show the Brotherhood that they are not alone - that there are other forces that can stand against them," said Ahmed Maher, founder of the April 6 - a group that helped ignite the uprising by using social media to organise.

The Brotherhood has said it will not send its supporters to Tahrir Square on Friday - a decision that at least limits the scope for more of the unrest that has compounded Egypt's economic troubles.

Instead, with its eye on forthcoming parliamentary polls, the electorially savvy Brotherhood is marking the anniversary with a campaign to help the poor. With allies, it promises to send volunteers to renovate 2,000 schools, plant trees, deliver medical aid and open "charity markets" selling affordable food.

"The importance of the anniversary is to lift the spirits of the Egyptian people: more hope and more work," said Ahmed Aref, a Muslim Brotherhood spokesman who was in Tahrir Square for the entire 18-day uprising against Mubarak.

Inspired by Tunisia's uprising against President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, Egypt's revolution helped set off more revolts in Libya and Syria. It brought political freedom that allowed the dramatic rise to power of the Brotherhood, an Islamist group that was outlawed under decades of army-backed autocracy.

Two years on, Egypt is struggling with a deep economic crisis caused by political turbulence which has continued unabated since the election of a new president.

The sense of common purpose that united Egyptians against Mubarak has given way to conflict. Secularists and liberals accuse the Muslim Brotherhood of seeking to dominate the country. The Islamists say their opponents are not respecting the rules of the democratic game.

Mursi's bid to fast-track a controversial, Islamist-tinged constitution in December fuelled days of protests that helped send the Egyptian pound to record lows against the U.S. dollar. Analysts fear Friday could bring more yet more trouble.

"I foresee very big protests, and some civil unrest," said Elijah Zarwan of the European Council on Foreign Relations. "Two years on, a real sense of disenchantment has settled on Egypt.

"There is a fairly widespread sense that the country is slipping, socially, economically and in terms of governance. Politically, the divisions have become so fierce that it's hard to imagine the various parties and factions coming to an agreement, even on the things they agree on."

CONSTITUTION "NOT WORTHY" OF REVOLUTION

Despite winning approval in a popular referendum, the new constitution remains one of the main grievances of the array of leftist and liberal parties calling for Friday's protests.

"Nothing will undermine our hopes, but this constitution is not worthy of the revolution," Maher of April 6 told Reuters.

Its critics say the constitution offers inadequate protection for human rights, gives the president too many privileges and fails to curb the power of the military establishment.

Mursi's supporters say the criticism is unfair, enacting the constitution quickly was crucial to restoring stability, and the opposition is making the situation worse by perpetuating unrest. The referendum, they say, settled the issue democratically, and protests are just another chance to stir up trouble.

Both sides trade blame for economic hardship as the falling currency drives up the cost of imported food on which the mostly desert nation depends. The opposition says government economic mismanagement is at fault, while the government blames the climate of instability fomented by its opponents.

Other sources of friction abound. Activists are impatient for justice for the victims of political violence perpetrated over the last two years. Little has been done to reform brutal Mubarak-era security agencies. A spate of transport disasters on roads and railways neglected for years is feeding discontent.

The political polarisation is making it harder for the Mursi administration to address the economic problems. In December, he postponed reforms needed to address a gaping budget deficit and secure a $4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.

With its foreign currency reserves critically low, the finances of the Arab world's most populous nation have been propped up by the tiny but rich Gulf emirate of Qatar, which has supplied some $5 billion in grants and loans.

The Brotherhood acknowledges that many of the revolution's goals have yet to be realised. Yet the group sees major achievements including the new constitution and the election of the country's first civilian head of state.

Marking the anniversary with a big charity campaign is a classic Brotherhood tactic, demonstrating the populist impulses and organisational muscle that have swept the Islamists to five straight election victories since Mubarak fell - two for parliament, one for president and two referendums.

"The people are interested in their daily bread. Citizens want to feel the change brought by the Egyptian revolution. This requires the opposition to translate what they are calling for into real policy programmes," said Ahmed Subei, a spokesman for the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/two-years-since-uprising-egypt-braces-more-protests-124541637.html

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