But Clijsters, once too nervous to think clearly on big occasions, has matured into a more resilient champion, and even on an evening when she was not at her best and when Li frequently beat her at her own big-hitting game, Clijsters found a way to find a solution, come back and expand her Grand Slam range.
Her 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory gave her a fourth major singles title, but her first outside New York, where she has won three U.S. Open titles. It was an emotional victory for the 27-year-old Clijsters. It was also a popular victory.
Clijsters was nicknamed Aussie Kim here in the days when she was dating Australian tennis star Lleyton Hewitt. Although she eventually married an American basketball player, Brian Lynch, and set up house in Belgium and the United States, she is still well liked in Australia.
“Now I finally feel that you can call me Aussie Kim because I won the title,” she said to the crowd in the postmatch ceremony.
But in terms of tennis history, her latest success story paled in comparison with what might have been if Li had managed to win and become the first Chinese player to win a Grand Slam singles title.
“She had more experience than me, because she played many finals,” Li said.
In the early 2000s, Australian Open officials began marketing their tournament as the Grand Slam of Asia Pacific in an attempt to connect their event to the region and defend against the possibility of being usurped by an Asian Slam.
Though the label initially elicited skepticism, it has taken hold with many Asian players, and China has had considerable success here in recent years. In 2006, the women’s doubles team of Yan Zi and Zheng Jie became the country’s first Grand Slam champions by winning, and Li and Zheng reached the semifinals in singles here last year.
Thanks for sharing, good article, Geny.
ReplyDelete