Na Li is one of those players who always felt at ease in Melbourne. Judging by her results, we can even say that this is her best Grand Slam. The Chinese star had has great results here, reaching the semifinals in four of the last five seasons. She even came extremely close to winning the title in 2011 and 2013, losing two epic battles to Kim Clijsters, respectively to Victoria Azarenka. This year though, she was not to be denied.
After a great start in Shenzhen, where she successfully defended her crown, Li arrived in Melbourne determined to improve last year's runner-up showing. After quick dismissals of young guns Croat Ana Konjuh and Swiss Belinda Bencic, the Chinese trailblazer run into deep troubles against Czech Lucie Safarova. Safarova easily bagged the first set and even had match point in the second, before Li marched on an extraordinary comeback to triumph 1-6,7-6,6-3. Once she dug herself out of the rabbit hole, Na Li was untroubled as she finally got to lift the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup. Taking advantage of an open draw, she saw off Russian Ekaterina Makarova, Italian Flavia Pennetta, Canadian darling Eugenie Bouchard, and surprising Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova to add a second Grand Slam trophy to her cabinet. None of these player took a set of Li; only Cibulkova stretched her to the limits in the opening set of the final, but Li remained mentally strong to close that out in a tiebreak.
With favourites Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, and Maria Sharapova failing miserably, Na Li proved she is a true champion. Playing sharp tennis and remaining focused throughout the fortnight, she backed up her 2011 Roland Garros triumph to shake off the 'One-Slam Wonder' tag.
Li's current coach, the legendary Carlos Rodriguez, plays an essential role in Li's recent success. In her interview, the Chinese talked about how much Carlos, Justine Henin's former coach, has helped her fight the inner demons and start believe in herself: "Before the match he was telling me to relax, just think it's a match, don't think it's a final. When he was coaching me, he always say 'believe in yourself.' He always believed in me, I never believed in myself. That was my problem."
A fan-favourite all over the world, Li won a few more hearts with her humorous speech. She first thanked her agent "for making me rich," her coach, and then her husband, Shan Jiang. She told him he was "even famous in China." "So thanks for him give up everything just traveling with me to be my hitting partner, fix the drinks, fix the racket. So thanks a lot, you are a nice guy," she said, to the delight of the crowd. "Also you are so lucky, find me." [sic]
With two titles already to her name, Na Li is undefeated so far this season. She is leading the race to Singapore.
 |
| Shaking off some early nerves, Na Li eventually proved too strong for Cibulkova, winning the match 7-6,6-0 to wrap up a magnificent fortnight Down Under. |
  |
| The win against Cibulkova brought Li her second Grand Slam title and her first in Melbourne, following heart-breaking runner-up showing in 2011 and 2013. |
No comments:
Post a Comment