Li Na and the result of her Australian Open Campaign
On Saturday, Kim Clijsters concluded a thrilling Australian Open run by winning the title for the first time in her career (3-6, 6-3 and 6-3). Already a major favourite with local fans, her popularity in Oz has skyrocketed after
this achievement.
However, although Chinese tennis pro Li Na walked off the court without the trophy, she may have found as many new fans for herself as Clijsters. The Australian crowd immediately warmed up to her after her quirky, relaxed interviews,
and her friendly manner made her a favourite in no time.
However, the greatest influence Li Na had was undoubtedly on her home continent. Na is the first Asian woman to reach a Grand Slam final, and the support she received for this feat has been remarkable. What Li Na has accomplished
is nothing short of a revolution. While it may take some time to get the ball rolling, there is no doubt that the world will see a brand new generation of tennis contenders on the field within a decade.
With her success, Li Na succeeded in capturing the attention and admiration of her entire country. The population of China is currently estimated at 1.3 billion people; with those figures in mind, even a single percentage of tennis
converts would be enough to cause an outbreak of superstars.
The one question asked over and over again during the match was this: why has Li Na taken so long to achieve this kind of success? Her performance today was by far better than that of Ana Ivanovic or Dinara Safina (both former
World Number 1s). Despite this, she is only World Number 7 and her first major success has come at the age of almost-29.
The answer is simple: before this, China has made little or no effort to focus on tennis. As made obvious by the number of runners and swimmers who emerged from China around the 2008 Beijing Olympics, China has a long tradition
of picking a sport and making sure they excel at it. Now that Na has made an impact in the tennis world, the Chinese population will turn to tennis in flocks; Li Na is the catalyst for one the most major sports revolutions to be seen in this millennium.
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