One of the greatest stories on the WTA Tour this year : Li Na's breakthrough at the age of 29. She made China have his first Grand Slam title by winning Roland Garros this year and played enough well in order to end this year at the fifth spot.
5- Li Na (CHINA)
2010 Year-Ending Ranking : N° 11 (+6)
2011 in Review : The biggest achievement of her season and her career is winning Roland Garros over Franseca Schivaone, the defending champion (6/4 7/6).
But, the year began really well in Australia as she won The Medibank International in Sydney beating Kim Clijsters in the final (7/6 6/3). Two weeks later she meets Kim Clijsters again in the final at the Australian Open. It's Li Na's first Grand Slam and she lost it 3/6 6/3 6/3. But to get there she showed an impressive and solid tennis winning over Victoria Azarenka in the 4th round and the world number one, Caroline Wozniacki in the semi-final by saving a match point. But the serie stops brutally there as she lost in first rounds in Dubai, Doha, Indian Wells and Miami. Even if she wins a match at Stuttgart, the first since her Australian Open final, she lose the 2nd Round to Sabine Lisicki.
That's why when she entered the Mutua Madrilena Open in Madrid, no one expected her to do that well and go that deep : She reaches the semi-finals losing to Petra Kvitova, the eventual champion, 6/3 6/1. She goes back to the semi-finals in Rome, losing to Samantha Stosur in straight sets.
Arriving in Roland Garros, she knew that she's been able to play well on clay... But not that good. She took her matches step by step and after struggling in the first round against Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, she went on winning including beating Petra Kvitova in the 4th round, Victoria Azarenka in the quarter-finals, Maria Sharapova in the semi-finals and finally Francesca Schiavone in the final.
It seems like Li Na stopped her season there. Perhaps the motivation has gone, perhaps all those endormsents contracts made here forget about her tennis. Whatever, the thing is, the season has been really bad after Roland Garros as she lost in the 2nd Round of Wimbledon to Lisicki, the 3rd Round in both Cincinnati and Toronto (lost both to Stosur in straight sets). At the US Open, she lost in the 1st Round to Simona Halep in straight sets 6/2 7/5. She also fell in the 1st Round at the China Open to another Roumanian, Monica Niculescu 6/4 6/0.
But, her big results during the Australian Summer and her win at Roland Garros permits her to qualify for the Year Ending Championship in Istanbul where she beats an injuried Maria Sharapova before losing comprehensively to both Samantha Stosur and Victoria Azarenka. I think Li Na has been glad the season was over, so she could regroup and try to begin 2012 in the best way she can.
What to expect for 2012 ? : Li Na will play this season and she's nearly 30, we can't expect much from her. Winning another grand slam would another great achievement in her career but I gotta confess I highly doubt she can ever make it again, but who knows ?But, she'll be focused during the Olympic Games in order to grab a medal for China, she's still able to do so. I can see her drop a little bit in rankings. But the main objective for her will be to stay regular throughout the year and somehow to have pleasure on the court. Li Na will stay a threat in all the tournaments and we hope for her to finally beat Samantha Stosur against whom she never won a single match.
The best of 2011 : Li Na d. Caroline Wozniacki 3/6 7/5 6/3 (Australian Open- Semi-Finals)
At the beginning, wanted to choose the Roland Garros final against Franseca Schiavone but it was not the match she displayed the better tennis of her season. After that, wanted to chose the semi-final against Maria Sharapova in Roland Garros but it was not that good, Li Na just did the job and waited for Maria's faults. Finally, I figured out that during this match in Australia she did : She played a really good tennis and has been really mentally strong.
The Worst of 2011 : Simona Halep d. Li Na 6/2 7/5 (US Open- 1st round)
She just did everything wrong during this match, lot of unforced errors, an absent moving, a bad serve. A match to forget for Li Na
5- Li Na (CHINA)
2010 Year-Ending Ranking : N° 11 (+6)
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| Li Na, right after her victorious match point at the end of her match against Francesca Schiavone in the Final of the French Open (Roland Garros, Paris) |
But, the year began really well in Australia as she won The Medibank International in Sydney beating Kim Clijsters in the final (7/6 6/3). Two weeks later she meets Kim Clijsters again in the final at the Australian Open. It's Li Na's first Grand Slam and she lost it 3/6 6/3 6/3. But to get there she showed an impressive and solid tennis winning over Victoria Azarenka in the 4th round and the world number one, Caroline Wozniacki in the semi-final by saving a match point. But the serie stops brutally there as she lost in first rounds in Dubai, Doha, Indian Wells and Miami. Even if she wins a match at Stuttgart, the first since her Australian Open final, she lose the 2nd Round to Sabine Lisicki.
That's why when she entered the Mutua Madrilena Open in Madrid, no one expected her to do that well and go that deep : She reaches the semi-finals losing to Petra Kvitova, the eventual champion, 6/3 6/1. She goes back to the semi-finals in Rome, losing to Samantha Stosur in straight sets.
Arriving in Roland Garros, she knew that she's been able to play well on clay... But not that good. She took her matches step by step and after struggling in the first round against Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, she went on winning including beating Petra Kvitova in the 4th round, Victoria Azarenka in the quarter-finals, Maria Sharapova in the semi-finals and finally Francesca Schiavone in the final.
It seems like Li Na stopped her season there. Perhaps the motivation has gone, perhaps all those endormsents contracts made here forget about her tennis. Whatever, the thing is, the season has been really bad after Roland Garros as she lost in the 2nd Round of Wimbledon to Lisicki, the 3rd Round in both Cincinnati and Toronto (lost both to Stosur in straight sets). At the US Open, she lost in the 1st Round to Simona Halep in straight sets 6/2 7/5. She also fell in the 1st Round at the China Open to another Roumanian, Monica Niculescu 6/4 6/0.
But, her big results during the Australian Summer and her win at Roland Garros permits her to qualify for the Year Ending Championship in Istanbul where she beats an injuried Maria Sharapova before losing comprehensively to both Samantha Stosur and Victoria Azarenka. I think Li Na has been glad the season was over, so she could regroup and try to begin 2012 in the best way she can.
At the beginning, wanted to choose the Roland Garros final against Franseca Schiavone but it was not the match she displayed the better tennis of her season. After that, wanted to chose the semi-final against Maria Sharapova in Roland Garros but it was not that good, Li Na just did the job and waited for Maria's faults. Finally, I figured out that during this match in Australia she did : She played a really good tennis and has been really mentally strong.
The Worst of 2011 : Simona Halep d. Li Na 6/2 7/5 (US Open- 1st round)
She just did everything wrong during this match, lot of unforced errors, an absent moving, a bad serve. A match to forget for Li Na
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