Li Na's bid to become China's first grand slam singles champion ended in disappointment after she was beaten in three sets by Kim Clijsters in the final of the Australian Open.

Li overcame a nervy start to win the first set, but lost her direction midway through the second as she became irritated by a section of the crowd. Clijsters took full advantage to hit back and win 3-6 6-3 6-3 to claim her first major title outside of New York.

Li's run to the final in Melbourne has caught the imagination in her homeland and with the match potentially available to 330 million households in China, there was the possibility of it being the most watched tennis match of all time.

And for a set and a half, her enormous following would have enjoyed the spectacle as she dominated a strangely out-of-sorts Clijsters.

But Clijsters, as expected, eventually found a foothold and started to improve. It prompted a collapse from Li, who started to become agitated, complaining about crowd noise and flashbulbs from court-side photographers.

The Belgian edged the second set and then cruised through the decider to claim her fourth grand slam crown.