ID :
102980
Wed, 01/27/2010 - 20:09
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Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/102980
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Li sets up Chinese revolution
Tennis took a peek into the future on Wednesday when Li Na gave China two
semi-finalists in a grand slam for the first time.
Li upset sixth seed Venus Williams in a two-hour, 47-minute marathon to join
compatriot Zheng Jie in the last four.
The 27-year-old Li fought back from a first-set deficit to win 2-6 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 and
become one of the few players to have a winning record against the American, who she
previously beat at the Beijing Olympics.
Li now meets Venus's sister Serena, the defending champion and top seed, who mounted
a dramatic comeback to outlast Belarussian Victoria Azarenka 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2.
Zheng faces one of her idols, Belgian comeback star Justine Henin on Thursday.
It was Li's best performance in a grand slam - she previously made the
quarter-finals of last year's US Open and Wimbledon in 2006. Zheng was a Wimbledon
semi-finalist in 2008.
The pair had already created history by setting up the first ever all-Chinese WTA
final, at Estoril in Portugal in 2006, a match Zheng won.
Their success is certain to spark a revolution in the sport in China as Li became
the first Chinese player to reach the top 10 with her performance on Wednesday.
"Right now they have juniors who are playing here, there are many good players but
they need higher ranks to play big tournaments," Li said.
"It's step by step."
Li also pointed to the influx of Chinese media at the Australian Open and said her
match was widely viewed at home.
As a semi-finalist Li and Zheng are already guaranteed a minimum $A400,000 each -
most of which they can keep.
The top four players in China are required to pay the Chinese tennis federation 12
per cent of their winnings while the remainder hand over 65 per cent of their
prizemoney.
Williams was off to a blistering start when she broke Li in the first and third
games and held serve effortlessly to streak to 4-0.
She started the same way in the second set, with an opening break of serve although
Li broke back to level and went on to force a tiebreaker.
The deciding set became a matter of which player could manage to hold serve. It
featured an astonishing nine service breaks before Li held serve to take the set
7-5.
"Actually I was nervous in the first set," Li said.
"Venus played aggressively and didn't miss a lot of balls. I was feeling more
pressure in the first set.
"In the second set I was feeling better but I was still 5-3 down then I just tried
to get more balls back and make her run more. Maybe she got a little tired."
semi-finalists in a grand slam for the first time.
Li upset sixth seed Venus Williams in a two-hour, 47-minute marathon to join
compatriot Zheng Jie in the last four.
The 27-year-old Li fought back from a first-set deficit to win 2-6 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 and
become one of the few players to have a winning record against the American, who she
previously beat at the Beijing Olympics.
Li now meets Venus's sister Serena, the defending champion and top seed, who mounted
a dramatic comeback to outlast Belarussian Victoria Azarenka 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-2.
Zheng faces one of her idols, Belgian comeback star Justine Henin on Thursday.
It was Li's best performance in a grand slam - she previously made the
quarter-finals of last year's US Open and Wimbledon in 2006. Zheng was a Wimbledon
semi-finalist in 2008.
The pair had already created history by setting up the first ever all-Chinese WTA
final, at Estoril in Portugal in 2006, a match Zheng won.
Their success is certain to spark a revolution in the sport in China as Li became
the first Chinese player to reach the top 10 with her performance on Wednesday.
"Right now they have juniors who are playing here, there are many good players but
they need higher ranks to play big tournaments," Li said.
"It's step by step."
Li also pointed to the influx of Chinese media at the Australian Open and said her
match was widely viewed at home.
As a semi-finalist Li and Zheng are already guaranteed a minimum $A400,000 each -
most of which they can keep.
The top four players in China are required to pay the Chinese tennis federation 12
per cent of their winnings while the remainder hand over 65 per cent of their
prizemoney.
Williams was off to a blistering start when she broke Li in the first and third
games and held serve effortlessly to streak to 4-0.
She started the same way in the second set, with an opening break of serve although
Li broke back to level and went on to force a tiebreaker.
The deciding set became a matter of which player could manage to hold serve. It
featured an astonishing nine service breaks before Li held serve to take the set
7-5.
"Actually I was nervous in the first set," Li said.
"Venus played aggressively and didn't miss a lot of balls. I was feeling more
pressure in the first set.
"In the second set I was feeling better but I was still 5-3 down then I just tried
to get more balls back and make her run more. Maybe she got a little tired."
