2011 Sony Ericsson Open WTA Part 7: Li Na
World Number 6 Li Na
Chinese player Li Na is probably the best tennis player to emerge from China in the history of the Open Era. Li Na is currently ranked World Number 6, and made her mark in the tennis world earlier this year when she reached the finals of the 2011 Australian Open. She is the first Chinese player, male or female, to make it to the title match of a Grand Slam singles tournament. Although she could not win her match against Comeback Queen and tennis mama Kim Clijsters, she guaranteed her position as a serious player in the world of tennis.
Li Na has won a total of four Women’s Tennis Association [WTA] titles along with nineteen International Tennis Federation [ITF] wins. Her highest ranking is her current one, at World Number 6. The Chinese pro has been part of the professional circuit for over ten years, having joined the WTA in 1999. Her playing style is characterized by her athletic reflexes and powerful groundstrokes, as well as her baseline attacks. Her best shot is probably her backhand; however, she suffers from a lack of variety as well as a very high number of unforced errors.
The tennis pro made her Miami debut in 2006, when she was ranked World Number 60. Her first match was against Japanese pro Akiko Morigami, whom she ousted in straight sets. However, she was unable to perform against superior player and fourth seed Maria Sharapova in the second round.
However, by the 2007 Miami tournament, Li Na’s ranking had risen to World Number 17 and she was eligible for a bye in the first round of the tournament. She began her run by ousting Austrian pro Tamira Paszek, before going on to defeat Slovak pro Katarina Srebotnik. Her next match was against fourth seed Kim Clijsters, whom she upset in three sets. This helped her to proceed to the quarterfinals against Anna Chakvetadze, who defeated the Chinese pro. In 2009, Li Na managed to match her 2008 performance by defeating players such as sixth seed Vera Zvonareva and Russian pro Ekaterina Makarova to make it to the quarterfinal yet again, before being ousted by top seed Serena Williams.
Last year, Li Na was seeded eighth at the Sony Ericsson Open. She received a bye into the second round, but was upset by Timea Bacsinszky in her first match of the event.
It seems as if Li Na is destined to recreate her previous performances at Miami; this year, she was seeded seventh and received a bye into the second round only to be ousted by Swedish pro Johanna Larsson in three sets.
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