Li wins but China flops 1-2
Source: Agencies |
January 1, 2012, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
FRENCH Open champion Li Na has blamed her perplexing slump on her sudden celebrity status - and her irritation at being yelled at by her husband.
Li beat Marion Bartoli 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 on the opening day of the Hopman Cup in Perth yesterday to arrest a poor run of form since becoming the first Asian to win a grand slam in June.
France rebounded to record a 2-1 victory over China thanks to Richard Gasquet's 6-1, 6-3 defeat of world No. 424 Wu Di and a commanding 6-1, 6-1 win in the mixed doubles.
Despite her team's defeat, Li insisted her head was out of the clouds for the first time since her ground-breaking French Open triumph.
"After the French Open my life changed," Li said. "If I go somewhere to play a tournament, more people know who I am.
"I'm only focusing on photo shoots. It's tough after winning a big title, maintaining the concentration - so many photo shoots," she added.
Distracted by off-court commitments triggered by new-found fame and suffocated by public attention in her homeland, Li won only seven of 16 matches for the rest of last season.
"I've had a good off-season in Munich," declared Li, who also reached the 2010 Australian Open final, losing out to Kim Clijsters in three sets. "I'm back."
Agitated hubby Jiang Shan chewed his fingernails and shook his head as Li surrendered an error-strewn first set. Later, Li revealed they had been at each other's throats during practice.
"It's bad, we're always fighting. It's tough, he's always telling me, 'Move your feet, move your feet!' I'm thinking, 'Why are you shouting at me?' I only listen to him for two hours a day now," joked Li.
"I told him, 'When I am on the court, I will listen to you. When we are away from the court, you have to listen to me.'"
Li beat Marion Bartoli 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 on the opening day of the Hopman Cup in Perth yesterday to arrest a poor run of form since becoming the first Asian to win a grand slam in June.
France rebounded to record a 2-1 victory over China thanks to Richard Gasquet's 6-1, 6-3 defeat of world No. 424 Wu Di and a commanding 6-1, 6-1 win in the mixed doubles.
Despite her team's defeat, Li insisted her head was out of the clouds for the first time since her ground-breaking French Open triumph.
"After the French Open my life changed," Li said. "If I go somewhere to play a tournament, more people know who I am.
"I'm only focusing on photo shoots. It's tough after winning a big title, maintaining the concentration - so many photo shoots," she added.
Distracted by off-court commitments triggered by new-found fame and suffocated by public attention in her homeland, Li won only seven of 16 matches for the rest of last season.
"I've had a good off-season in Munich," declared Li, who also reached the 2010 Australian Open final, losing out to Kim Clijsters in three sets. "I'm back."
Agitated hubby Jiang Shan chewed his fingernails and shook his head as Li surrendered an error-strewn first set. Later, Li revealed they had been at each other's throats during practice.
"It's bad, we're always fighting. It's tough, he's always telling me, 'Move your feet, move your feet!' I'm thinking, 'Why are you shouting at me?' I only listen to him for two hours a day now," joked Li.
"I told him, 'When I am on the court, I will listen to you. When we are away from the court, you have to listen to me.'"
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