Times wires
Saturday, June 4, 2011
PARIS — As China's Li Na tossed the ball while serving at match point in the French Open final, a cry from a fan in the stands pierced the silence.
Distracted, Li let the ball drop. The words of support were in Mandarin: Jia you! — which loosely translates to "Let's go!" After so many years of "Come on" and "Allez" and "Vamos," there's a new language on the landscape.
Li became the first Chinese player, man or woman, to win a Grand Slam singles title, beating defending champion Francesca Schiavone of Italy 6-4, 7-6 (7-0) at Roland Garros on Saturday. The sixth-seeded Li used powerful groundstrokes to compile a 31-12 edge in winners, and she won the last nine points of the match, a run that began when Schiavone was flustered by a line call.
"China tennis — we're getting bigger and bigger," said Li, who is projected to rise to a career-best No. 4 in Monday's rankings.
She already was the first woman from that nation to win a WTA singles title, the first to enter the top 10 in the rankings, and the first to make it to a Grand Slam final; she lost to Kim Clijsters at the Australian Open in January.
Thinking back to that defeat, Li said, "I had no experience. I was very nervous. For my second time in a final, I had the experience. I knew how to do it. And I had more self-confidence."
Li's tennis game, filled with flat forehands and backhands, looks better-built for hardcourts rather than the slow, red clay of Paris. But Li's movement on clay is better now, Schiavone said, "She slides a little bit more."
Schiavone broke to 4-all in the second set and held to lead 6-5. The 12th game was pivotal.
Serving at deuce, Li smacked a backhand that landed near a sideline but initially was called out by a line judge, which would have given Schiavone a set point. Chair umpire Louise Engzell examined the mark and ruled the ball touched the line. Schiavone wouldn't win another point.
"That ball was out," she said later. "Sure, you get angry. … So what do you do? You're playing tennis, you have to go back to playing tennis and think about what you need to do. Obviously, I think it was a big mistake."
When Schiavone's backhand sailed long on match point, Li fell to the court, covering the back of her shirt with rust-colored clay.
"Amazing," said Li after the match, which ended about 11 p.m. local time in her homeland. "I got a text message from my friend. They said they were crying in China because they saw the national flag."