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Li Na is ready to conquer Melbourne and make tennis history
4 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Articles, Scoop
I believe Li Na is ready to become China’s first Grand Slam major winner. The 28-year-old totally shocked Kim Clijsters in the final of Sydney, coming back from a 0-5 deficit in the first set to win the match 76 63.
Clijsters is the odds on favorite to win the Australian Open and was in good form this year – until Li Na found her groove. Li Na dominated and overpowered Clijsters from the baseline and you do not see that happen often.
Li Na has always been a tough player – she was the first Chinese player to reach the top 30, top 20 and top 10 (last August) – however she has struggled with the pressure of high expectations. The win over Clijsters could be a sign that she is ready to fulfill her potential.
Ranked #11 in the world now, Li Na has won four career WTA singles titles, has a career 320-112 record, and was the first Chinese player to reach a major QF (Wimbledon 2006) and SF (Australia 2010).
For those who saw it, this win over Clijsters was astonishing, almost magical. When have you ever seen a top contender for a Slam blow a 5-0 lead to a lesser ranked player just a few days before the start of the major tournament? I can’t think of any examples.
Li Na looks strong, powerful, consistent, her serve was accurate, she looks like a champion, she really does. Clijsters just completely fell apart because of what Li Na was doing, the way she was playing and hitting the ball so well. At one point Kim took a ball and smashed it into the court, in a fit of rage. It was so unexpected, like seeing Stefan Edberg, Chris Evert or Bjorn Borg just totally lose it for two seconds. I can’t think of a time when Kim showed that level of anger and frustration ever before in her career.
All credit must go to Li Na and the level of tennis she is playing right now.
If Li Na can keep playing like this, at this level she is on now, and perhaps take it even higher, she is absolutely ready to make tennis history for China and herself…Li Na, 2011 Australian Open women’s singles champion. Don’t be surprised if it happens.
Li Na reached the Oz semis last year
Andrew Miller · January 16, 2011 at 5:43 pm
I would be thrilled to see Li Na win the Aussie Open. She is a great player. I think if she faces off vs. a Wozniaki or a Zvonareva in the finals, she wins. She would probably also take out Henin. Clijsters is pretty good in slam finals and has extra incentive to win after announcing her upcoming “limited” schedule from now through the future. Clijsters is basking in the best of both worlds, so it would not surprise me that someone training and playing as well as Li Na could steal a title from the WTA’s best, healthiest player at the moment. (I would take Serena but Serena has the foot thing).
Scoop Malinowski · January 17, 2011 at 8:08 pm
Li Na has the goods to be the first Asian woman to ever win a grand slam. She was spectacular in Sydney, she shocked Kim and blew her off the court. She is so big and strong looking in person too, she is more of a physical presence than ATP players like Ferrer and Simon. Hopefully she can hold her nerve and fulfill her talent because it will be a very special historic moment if she can win her first slam in two weeks time, like Schiavone did in Paris.
Rick Smith · January 24, 2011 at 3:11 am
One note – Li Na wasn’t the first Chinese woman to reach a slam SF, Zheng Jie did it at Wimbledon 2008. But Li seems to be rolling now and wouldn’t shock me if she beat Wozniacki in the SF. Then a rematch in Clijsters, I think the occasion would get to Li mentally, but you never know and Kim can be vulnerable at times in big matches as well.
Scoop Malinowski · January 27, 2011 at 4:30 pm
Thanks for the correction Rick and welcome to the site. Good call on Li Na beating Wozniacki, though it was only by a whisker. What an epic match and stunning comeback from Li Na who was on the edge of the cliff down 0-40 late in the second set. She’s going to win the tournament.