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Melbourne, Australia - The third time was the charm for Li Na. The fourth-seeded Chinese star beat Dominika Cibulkova 7-6 (7-3), 6-0 at Rod Laver Arena to capture her first Australian Open title on Saturday. Li played in her third final in four years at Melbourne Park. She lost to Kim Clijsters in 2011 and Victoria Azarenka last year before finally breaking through at the seasons first Grand Slam event against the 20th-seeded Cibulkova. "After I win the match, I really, really exciting," Li said. "I think I have drops still coming down, you know. I try to have hug with the team, but is too high. I cannot catch it (laughter)." Her win came at the end of a fortnight featuring an array of surprising results on the womens side. It was the first time since 1997 that none of the top three seeds made the semifinals. Li committed 25 of her 30 unforced errors in a competitive opening set before she unexpectedly breezed through the second. She had a 34-11 advantage in winners, many coming on her lethal backhand, and converted half of her 10 break-point chances. The second double fault by Cibulkova in the matchs opening game gave Li an early break. A double fault then hurt Li as Cibulkova gained a break to level the first set at 3-all. Li earned a break point with a strong backhand winner in the ninth game, but two of her forehands flew long and Cibulkova was able to hold for a 5-4 lead. After closing out a relative easy service game with an ace to extend the set, Li earned two break points when she followed up Cibulkovas sixth double fault with a blistering crosscourt backhand. Cibulkova then netted a backhand to give Li a 6-5 lead before she broke back to force a tiebreak. Li raced out to a commanding 5-1 lead in the tiebreak and she later claimed the 70-minute first set when Cibulkova dumped a backhand into the net. The second set lasted only 27 minutes and ended with Cibulkova sending a ground stroke long. "You know, it was my first Grand Slam finals and Im just proud with the way I handle it," Cibulkova said. "You know, I just went on the court. I wanted to play my best tennis. It wasnt easy against her because she was playing extremely well. So Im quite happy." Li, who turns 32 next month, captured her second Grand Slam title, adding to her victory at the 2011 French Open, and improved to 9-11 in career finals. She also is just the fourth woman to win the Aussie Open crown after saving a match point. She fought off the match point in the third round against Lucie Safarova and joined Monica Seles (1991), Jennifer Capriati (2002) and Serena Williams (2003 and 2005) to accomplish the feat. "Yeah, start of tournament everybody talking about the age," Li said. "I would like to say age is nothing. Still can win the Grand Slam. So pretty happy about my age. I got more experience on the court." Cibulkova, who stands just 5-foot-3, knocked off No. 3 seed Maria Sharapova in the fourth round and No. 5 seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the semifinals to become Slovakias first Grand Slam finalist. The 24-year-old fell to 3-6 in her career title tilts and 0-5 against Li. Wholesale Shoes . - Joao Plata scored twice in the final 24 minutes, including the winner in stoppage time, to help Real Salt Lake remain unbeaten with a 3-2 victory over the winless Chicago Fire on Saturday night. Cheap Shoes . - The Denver Broncos kept rookie wide receiver Tavarres King from joining the Green Bay Packers by promoting him to their active roster Tuesday. http://www.shoeschinacheap.com/. -- Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday for the first time in his seven-year career because of a swollen muscle in his left upper back. Cheap Shoes China . But unfortunately for the Niagara Falls, Ont., native, a pulled muscle wouldnt allow him to go past the second set. Japan sealed its victory over Canada in the first-round Davis Cup tie after Nishikori downed an ailing Dancevic 6-2, 1-0.OAKLAND, Calif. -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over .500? Only veterans Jermaine ONeal, Steve Blake and Andre Iguodala raised their hands. With so many home games remaining, the opportunity in front of the Warriors is rare. Golden State took another step forward Friday night by easing past the Atlanta Hawks 111-97 for its third straight win. "Were chasing greatness," Jackson said. "Were not going to be satisfied. Were going to continue to try to chalk up Ws, continue to battle and continue to celebrate where we are as a basketball team. Its a great time. And if nobody else knows it, we know it." David Lee had 18 points and six rebounds, and ONeal came off the bench to add 17 points and eight rebounds to lift the Warriors (39-24) a season-high 15 games over .500 with a relatively smooth win. Iguodala and Stephen Curry each scored 13 points to help Golden State build a 66-52 halftime lead and go ahead by 20 in the fourth quarter. The Warriors, fresh off a 4-2 road trip, are 8-2 since the All-Star break and beginning to look like the team that roared to the second-round of the playoffs last year. "Ive been 15 under in New York a bunch of times and when I first got here," Lee said. "It says a lot about the direction this organizations headed that were breaking through and reaching goals like that." Paul Millsap had 16 points and seven rebounds after missing the last five games because of a bruised right knee for the Hawks, who have lost five straight. Mike Scott added 14 points and DeMarre Carroll and Jeff Teague scored nine points apiece as Atlanta continued its late-season slide. The teams traded baskets for most of the first half until the Warriors put together a 12-1 spurt in the closing minutes that the Hawks (26-34) never recovered from. "We lost our focus," Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer said. "WWe lost our mental toughness at the end of the second quarter and they were able to get out on us to like a 14-point lead going into halftime.dddddddddddd That stretch really hurt us." Golden State began a stretch of nine of 11 and 13 of its final 20 games at Oracle Arena. The Warriors want to use the finishing stretch to re-establish their home-court advantage and make a run at the Los Angeles Clippers, who are four games ahead in the Pacific Division. The Warriors, who needed Iguodalas 3-pointer as time expired to beat the Hawks 101-100 in Atlanta on Jan. 3, allowed little drama in the rematch. Draymond Greens 3-pointer capped a run that put the Warriors ahead 97-77 with 6:09 remaining in the fourth quarter. The depleted Hawks, with big men Al Horford and Gustavo Ayon out for the season, never seriously challenged. The only major setback for the Warriors came when shooting guard Klay Thompson limped to the locker room six minutes into the first quarter with a strained lower back. He did not return for precautionary reasons, the team said. Thompson has been Golden States most durable player the past three years. He has played in a franchise-record 211 straight regular-season games to start his career. Jackson said Thompson couldve started the second half, but there was no reason to with the Warriors in control. Millsap moved Atlanta within four early in the third quarter, but he had little help inside. Golden State led 85-77 entering the fourth quarter before pulling away. "We got away from what weve been doing," Millsap said. "Its kind of tough to lose that discipline, especially when youre on the road." NOTES: Curry has made at least one 3-pointer in 51 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the NBA after Kyle Korvers league-record 127-game streak ended in Atlantas loss at Portland on Wednesday. Korver was 1-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc against the Warriors. ... The Hawks play at the Clippers on Saturday night. ... The Warriors host Phoenix on Sunday. ' ' '