Li Na Becomes The First Asian To Make It To Grand Slam Final
January 27th, 2011 - 9:05 pm ICT by GDBy Madhuri Dey
Melbourne, Australia, Jan 27, (THAINDIAN NEWS) Li Na became the first Asian woman to go up to a Grand Slam final. She has gone up to the finals of the Australian Open, having beaten top spot players like Vera Zvonareva and Caroline Wozniacki. This marks a great comeback for the Chinese player, who had to return from the semifinals last year after being beaten in Melbourne. Her victory, she hopes, will act as a great impetus to the other Chinese hopefuls, and place China in the world map. Li Na commented to the press that she hopes she would be able to act as a model to the Chinese tennis players, admitting that the Chinese team has not been able to gain much limelight so far.
Li Na went on to say that having reached to the finals of the Grand Slam Tournament is a dream come true, given that not every player manages to reach to the Grand Slam finals even if they play the game professionally their entire lives. This is also a momentous event of her life for another reason: this is the second time that she has beaten a number one player; before Caroline Wozniacki this year, she had beaten Serena Williams in the 2008 match in Stuttgart.
Li Na beat Caroline Wozniacki by a margin of 3-6 7-5 6-3, dashing her hopes to win this Grand Slam, which would have been a first for her too. Li Na went on to defeat yet another top position player, Kim Clijsters, and rounded off her winning spree by winning over Vera Zvonareva by 6-3 6-3. Needless to say, her home country is jubilant at her victory, and seems to share the same hopes of bringing China in the forefront of world tennis.
- Clijsters sweeps past Zvonareva into Australian Open final - Jan 27, 2011
- Li Na becomes first Asian woman to reach Slam final with upset win over Wozniacki - Jan 27, 2011
- Zvonareva, Clijsters sail into Australian Open semi-finals - Jan 26, 2011
- Australian Open: Nadal overcomes Berdych, to meet Federer in semis (Roundup) - Jan 24, 2012
- Australian open: Wozniacki loses to Clijsters, surrenders World No.1 spot - Jan 24, 2012
- Li Na beat Wozniacki despite not getting 'good night's sleep' due to hubby's snoring! - Jan 27, 2011
- Caroline Wozniacki Beats Francesca Schiavone, Advances To Australian Open Semi-Finals - Jan 25, 2011
- China's Li Na ousts Germany's Petkovic to enter Oz Open semi-finals - Jan 25, 2011
- Australian Open: Top seeds advance to second round (Roundup) - Jan 16, 2012
- Clijsters upsets Ivanovic at Olympics - Aug 01, 2012
- China Open: Wozniacki, Zvonareva move ahead; Stosur eliminated - Oct 04, 2011
- Clijsters to face Zvonareva in US Open final - Sep 11, 2010
- Clijsters battles back against Li Na to win Australian Open - Jan 29, 2011
- Wimbledon champ Serena Williams commands WTA rankings - Jul 05, 2010
- Experience of no consequence in Oz Open final: Clijsters - Jan 28, 2011
Tags: asian woman, australian open, caroline wozniacki, chinese player, chinese team, dey, grand slam finals, grand slam tournament, hopefuls, impetus, kim clijsters, limelight, melbourne australia, momentous event, position player, serena williams, tennis players, vera zvonareva, world map, world tennis