Tennis News: Jiang Shan not sacked; Coach Mortensen also remains after Na Li’s dramatic comeback
Na Li’s husband, Jiang Shan is safe from being sacked from his back-seat job after Li’s dramatic comeback from trailing 0-3 in the decider in her fourth round match to win the next six games in a row.
Shan coached Li, the sixth seed, throughout her career and made her what she is now. They married each other in January 2006 and have a perfect understanding among themselves.
The blooming Chinese star made an awesome start of season as she won the title at Sydney after triumphing over Belgian Kim Clijsters in straight sets in the final. She extended her winning streak to eleven matches after defeating
world number one Caroline Wozniacki in the semi-final at Melbourne Grand Slam. However, she lost to Clijsters in the final and fell to a five match losing streak.
When her form deteriorated after the loss at Australian Open, where she became the first Chinese player to ever reach a Grand Slam final, she turned to Danish coach Michael Mortensen in April for help.
Talking of her working relationship with Jiang, Li said, "On court or off the court, we are there every day, like 24 hours together. So we needed a break. And also, after Melbourne I didn't do well. So I needed to change the team
a little bit… That's why I asked for Michael. I asked him to help me, so now my husband is my hitting partner."
Li and Mortensen have agreed for a three tournament trial session but after her performance at French Open, she is looking forward to work with him for a further period of time.
"I would like to keep working with him," she said. "There is no chance. We'll have to communicate first and see how many weeks he can travel with me. We'll talk after the French Open."
Li is the first Chinese to reach a quarter-final at Roland Garros. She triumphed over Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, Spanish qualifier Silvia Soler Espinosa and Romanian Sorana Cirstea in the first three rounds. In the four
round, she lost the first set against ninth seeded Petra Kvitova but equalised in a style after bagging a breadstick. The Chinese was losing 0-3 in the decider when her husband left after she made a stunning comeback in the game by reeling off next six games
in a row. She eventually sealed the deal with a 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory.
"I don't know what happened," she said. "Maybe just my husband left and I can win six games in a row!"
Regardless of early success with the new coach, the beaming Chinese said she would not end her working relations with her husband.
She will face fourth seeded Belarusian Victoria Azarenka in the quarters and it would be a worthwhile duel to watch since she is in her top form and had won two titles already. Azarenka won the title at Miami and Marbella and she
made a final berth at Madrid earlier this month.
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