Can Li Na defend her French Open title? – Tennis Special
Chinese number one, Li Na, will step onto the red clay courts of Paris, France, as a defending champion of the Roland Garros French Open. A shocking but delightful clay court Grand Slam for the Chinese superstar lit a candle of
hope in the hearts of Asians and few more players like Shuai Peng and Jie Zheng rose up the multiple ranks to enter the limelight.
The 30-year-old Chinese star is very elegant with her forceful forehand returns and that covers her disadvantage of short height. She has been groomed by her husband throughout her professional career and she always seeks inspiration
from him. Behind the innocent smile, there lives a strong woman who has fought extremely hard throughout her life to achieve this status.
Li describes her changes over the course of year as follows, “After Roland Garros, my life was totally shaken up. I experienced so many things that had never happened to me before… I was up to my neck in requests. I even thought
at one point that maybe I should just retire. I just couldn't focus out on court."
She might have entered her 30’s but there is absolutely no chance of Li retiring from the professional tennis circuit anytime soon. She is the only hope of Asian superstars to register some emphatic wins in big tournaments. Therefore,
she looks to prolong her career and stretch as much as can to gift glory moments to her Chinese fans.
"After these hectic six months, I knew what I had to do, and that my place was out on court and not in photo-shoots. That's not my job – my job is to go and play tennis, and that's what I love doing.” She explained to the media
representatives of the French Open.
At the moment, she is playing in Rome and looks terrific. However, the slump in her game play is clearly visible. She is not able to create any sort of continuity in her play and failed to grab any title this season so far. However,
it will not be a shocking news if she manages to defend her French Open title successfully because she has got ability to rise up to the occasion and stun anyone on her day.
In my opinion, she will have a tougher competition this year. The likes of Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka and Serena Williams are in emphatic run of form. These three players are the strongest contenders for the title at the
moment. However, Azarenka might not be 100 percent fit for the tournament having injured her right shoulder in Rome but still the other two players are good enough to create a strong squad against Li.
All Asian tennis fanatics have their eyes on Li and if she can do it once, she can always do it twice. However, this time around it will be a difficult task but still; the ninth ranked Chinese starlet is capable of pulling off
another miracle that will help her sustain the French Open title.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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