The Dane held match points against the Chinese great on her only previous appearance in the last four at Melbourne Park.
"That's the one that really hurt," Wozniacki said after reaching a semi-final again early Wednesday with a three-set victory over Spain's gritty 39th-ranked Carla Suarez Navarro.
"I had match points against Li Na. I lost it. That's still haunting me till this day. So I'm hoping for a different result this time."
"I remember serving for it at 5-4 in the second set. I remember being up 3-1 in the second set, serving with the sun," she recalled.
"That was very difficult. Maybe if I had been on the other side of the court, it would have been different.
"I remember very well that match. I usually forget matches and I don't remember playing certain people. I don't remember a lot of things, but that one is one that I remember very well."
"I went back on the practice court. I never do that after going far in a tournament and losing after a tough battle," she said.
"I usually take a day off the next day. I went back and practised. Just needed to get some frustration out.
"That's one that really hurt. I've lost from match points up and won from match points down before. That one was a special one."
Li went on to lose the final to Kim Clijsters in three sets.
She now faces Belgium's Mertens, the world number 37 who trains at Clijsters' academy.
Mertens is in top form on a 10-match win streak after winning the Hobart International warm-up event. Wozniacki knows she will be dangerous.
"She's had a very good start to the year, she's unbeaten," said Wozniacki.
"I remember playing her in Bastad. She's a great player."
That encounter in July last year on clay remains their only previous meeting. Wozniacki prevailed in three sets.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
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