Li Na all set for 3rd WTA Championships run

Instanbul - The chance of making Li Na's first semi-final appearance at the WTA Championships turned out to be decent.

The 4th seeded Chinese tennis ace, with Vitoria Azarenka (NO.2), Sara Errani (NO.6), Jelena Jankovic (NO.7) in the white group, will vie for two semi-final berths in the round-robin stage.

Defending champions Serena Williams (NO.1), Agnieszka Radwanska (NO.3), Petra Kvitova (NO.5) and Angelique Kerber (NO.8) were assigned to the red group at the draw ceremony in Istanbul, Turkey on Sunday night.

"In the WTA Championships, no one ever has an easy draw. You have to be ready when you come to the court. It's a big challenge," said Li.

This year marks Li's third WTA Championships participation in a row in Istanbul, Turkey. She didn't make it to the semi-finals for the last two years, finishing 1-2 in her group both times.

But at least statistics is shown in Li's favor this time. In 2013, she split her two encounters with Jankovic and conceded the Australian Open title to Azarenka and an ankle injury in a three-set thriller. Despite having not played Errani this season, Li holds a 5-0 all-time winning record against the Italian.

Even Li is approbatory of her consistency this year. The 2013 Australian Open runner-up reached quarter-final at Wimbledon and cruised to the US Open semi-final before losing to Serena Williams

"I think this is my best year. So I am really looking forward (to the WTA Championships) and also happy to be back to Istanbul again," she said.

No doubt a breakthrough at the season-ending clash of elites will be icing on the cake.