Li Na already excited for the Australia Open 2013 – Tennis News
With the 2012 WTA season drawing to its finish, the Chinese number one tennis professional, Li Na, has already started to plan out for the next year. The world number eight is very excited for the 2013 season-opening Grand Slam tournament, the Australian Open, and is aiming to claim glory in Melbourne to kick off the Chinese New Year.
Although Li hasn’t won the Australian Open before, she holds special feelings for this coveted Grand Slam event. She expressed her love for the Melbourne city and its crowd at the glorious Rod Laver Arena while addressing to a news conference in Beijing.
“I have to play in different countries and cities every week throughout the season, but Melbourne is always a special place,” Li said, “It’s a place I made it into a Grand Slam final for the first time and a place where I felt I could win a Grand Slam one day.”
The Chinese tennis ace earned huge lime light during the 2011 WTA season, when she beat all the odds to reach the final of the Australian Open. She the first ever Asian tennis player to reach a Grand Slam singles final, after beating a number of top-class performers on her voyage. Li outsmarted some big guns in the playing field, including the belligerent Belarusian , Victoria Azarenka, German tennis ace, Andrea Petkovic and the then world number one, Caroline Wozniacki to meet Kim Clijsters in the title match in Melbourne. She was outgunned by the Belgian veteran in a stiff three-setter to lose the golden opportunity of claiming a Grand Slam glory. However, she redeemed herself later in the season by winning the Roland Garros French Open title.
Tennis Australia CEO, Steve Wood, is also very enthusiastic to see Li in action at the Grand Slam Down Under.
“Li’s gorgeous smile and her commitment to the sport were quite impressive and made her a superstar in Australia,” Wood said, “Her performances have delighted tennis fans around the globe and the impact she has had on increasing interest and participation in tennis, particularly in China, is immeasurable.”
Victoria Azarenka is the current Australian Open champion and she will not let that title strip of her without giving a tough fight.
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