LI TARGETS GOLD

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When she became the first Asian woman to become a Grand Slam champion in the professional era of tennis, or any era of tennis for that matter after winning the French Open crown in 2011, a lot was expected from the Chinese tennis ace Na Li, but since that win, she struggled to put together any kind of decent result throughout the year and didn’t win another title that year. However, 2012 has begun on a slightly different note for the 30 year old having won three matches in a row in the Hopman Cup and reaching the finals in the preparatory event for the Australian Open in Sydney.

But the crushing loss to Kim Clijsters in the first Grand Slam of the year dealt a huge blow to her confidence, leading to her walking out of the post match press conference with tears in her eyes. For all those who know Na Li, it was not a normal reaction from the Chinese ace but according to a recent interview, she has regained much of her confidence and is looking forward to defending her French Open crown when the clay court season kicks off in some time.

But the 30 year old is not exactly concerned much with another Grand Slam win; rather she expects to put in a stellar performance in the upcoming Olympic Games of 2012 in London where she is hoping for one last shot at the Gold Medal. She will be leading the Chinese tennis team in the London Games and in the interview, Na Li made it clear that this will be her last Games and she will give it her best shot to get the medal.

But she also added that she is happy with the way her career has panned out and has no regrets.

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NA FORCED TO RETIRE

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French open champion Li Na was forced to retire from her first round match at the Open GDF Suez in Paris on Tuesday because of some severe back injury. At the time she was trailing Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova 7-6, 3-2.

Li said that she was feeling a little bit pain in her left side, which is why she decided to quit the tournament. She confessed that when the match started she was okay but gradually her health started deteriorating and was left with no other option than to quit. It was very painful and the whole thing started suddenly.

Li Na played some of her best matches at Fed cup in Israel that helped her gain confidence and her form back after a long time away from the limelight. She was enjoying her current form and the injury has become yet another obstacle on her career path. Li Na has dropped to No 9 in the WTA ranking. Though she has dropped to No 9, she has no points to defend till May so should move up in the rankings if she returns to the LTA circuit soon.

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LI OUT OF GDF OPEN

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Chinese tennis sensation Na Li has become the latest player to pull out of the upcoming Open GDF Paris which is being held in Paris in France in the first and second weeks of February after the withdrawal of the 13th ranked player Jelena Jankovic from the tournament earlier in the week.

The 29 year old Chinese tennis star became a cult figure for women in China as well as in Asia after becoming the first Asian woman to have ever won a Grand Slam title when she defeated the odds to be crowned the French Open champion in 2011.

However, a back injury forced the 9th ranked player in the world to retire early from her first round against Tsvetana Pironkova and withdraw from the tournament. Na Li, who was seeded 3rd for the tournament did not have the best of starts to the match against Pironkova when she trailed her 5-0 in the initial exchanges before making a strong comeback to take the set to a tie breaker, although she failed to win the tie breaker.

Trailing 2-3 after the fifth game of the second set, the Chinese woman decided to take a medical timeout and had her medical staff check her out before deciding to retire from the match and therefore, the tournament. Speaking to the reporters after the match, she added that she felt a slight pain in her back during China’s Fed Cup match but didn’t think much of it at that time and proceeded to play in the tournament, only to have to retire so early in the event.

At 29 years old, Na Li is not exactly a spring chicken in terms of fitness and with injuries starting to take a toll on her every now and then; it is worth seeing if she can bounce back for the next few WTA events.

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NA SUFFERS DRAMATIC DEFEAT

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Li Na was defeated in a dramatic encounter with Kim Clijsters which was a replay of last year’s Australian Open final. In the fourth round match, Clijsters took 3 sets to seal the victory, eventually winning 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4. Along the way, the Belgian player twisted an ankle and remarkably defended 4 match points against the Chinese player.

The drama appeared early in the match when Clijsters turned her ankle at 3-3, 30-30. “(Retiring) definitely crossed my mind at some point, but I knew if I could just try to kind of let the medication sink in or, you know, if I could get through the first 20 minutes, half-hour, I think the pain would go away a little bit and then maybe with the adrenalin I could just fly through it,” Clijsters said.

“I’m happy that I didn’t give up.” She made the correct choice, and although the first set was claimed by Li Na, the second set went all the way to a tie-break. The fifth seed stormed into a 6-2 lead, which looked unassailable until Clijsters started chipping away at it. It was soon 6-5, and the whole stadium held as breath as the Belgian sent a precarious drop shot drifting over the net to make it 6-6.

At this point, Clijsters had all the momentum and took the second set, 8-6 in the tie break. “You know, I’m not saying that forehand drop shot was a good choice, but, you know, you make decisions. Luckily, that one turned out okay,” Clijsters said.

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