Li Sees Plenty of Pressure

Written by: Staff on 4th January 2012

Li Sees Plenty of Pressure

Li Na for China walks on the court after her mixed doubles match with Wu Di against Anabel Medina Garrigues and Fernando Verdasco for Spain in the session 5 of Hopman Cup Tennis tournament in Perth, Australia, 03 January 2012. Spain won the match 6-0, 6-2. EPA/TONY MCDONOUGH AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT |

2011 was a year of magnificent highs and frustrating lows for French Open champion Li Na. Now the world no.5 from China insists it is time to hit far greater consistency because, with her 30th birthday fast approaching in February, it is necessary in what she terms ‘the last stage of her career.’

Li Na had a dismal time for the remainder of last year after her triumph at Roland Garros and recorded a 6-9 losing record with one walkover in her remaining eight tournaments.

Frustration set in, coach Michael Mortensen was fired to adopting a ‘too soft’ approach and now Li Na has turned the hard words on herself. “I am not young any more and I do not have time to waste,” maintained the woman who is the figurehead for female sport in China. “I have to focus every second of every tournament I play to make the most of the time I have left.”

Li Na spent much of the off-season training in Munich. “I stayed there for a month,” she said. “To get my body healthy and strong. It was tough, six hours of training a day, two or three hours on the court, but mostly it was for fitness because I want to be healthy for a whole season.

“I have had knee and back injuries and I don’t want that again. At the moment my body feels fit so I can’t think about how many years until I retire. Now I can think I can play as well as the first half of 2011. Maybe in 2012, I play even better.”

Now she is hopeful of continuing her trend of going one step better at the forthcoming Australian Open. In 2010 Li Na was a semi-finalist, last year she made the final before losing to Kim Clijsters and now there is only one way to improve.

She said “I am always doing well at the Australian Open so I think China and Australia have good communication and good business. I have a sponsor, the Australian hotel Crown, and people say there is a big photograph of me in Melbourne

“I was just arriving and another player said, ‘Oh we just arrived and we saw your picture so we know you are here.’ But I said, ‘No I just arrived!’ so it’s good experience for my whole life out of China not only in China.

“Of course every year is different so maybe 2012 will be even better but I will try my best.”