Li Na had always been able to hit the ball. She’d always had a high-class two-handed backhand. She’d always been an athletic player who could out-gun virtually anyone when everything was clicking. It was just that everything didn’t click all that often, or for very long. At 29, Li seemed destined to end up one of the many thousands of players who never quite do all that they’re capable of doing on a tennis court. She also seemed destined to be one of the many millions of people who would never win a Grand Slam title.
After all, no one that looked like her or came from her part of the world had ever one won before. And that’s what Li’s surprise breakthrough in Paris this year so special. She had come a set away from winning the Australian Open earlier in the year, only to stumble at the finish line. While she was never known as a clay-court specialist, Li couldn’t be stopped at the French Open. This time her forehand bullets found the corners; this time she held her nerve even though a fiery comeback by her opponent, defending champion Francesca Schiavone. The sight of this Chinese woman holding the silver trophy of a venerable European sporting event was the most satisfyingly surprising moment of the tennis season.
—Steve Tignor
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