China media praises Li Na
BEIJING — China's sporting press was awash with praise for tennis star Li Na, who became the first Chinese player ever to reach a French Open semi-final.The sixth-seeded Li will meet…
BEIJING — China's sporting press was awash with praise for tennis star Li Na, who became the first Chinese player ever to reach a French Open semi-final.The sixth-seeded Li will meet Russia's Maria Sharapova in the Thursday semi-final on the red clay of Roland Garros after dispatching fourth-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in convincing style, 7-5, 6-2, a day earlier."This was the most complete match that Li Na has played at this French Open and it appeared that everything was in her grasp," the People's Daily, the Communist Party's official mouthpiece, gushed on Thursday."Li Na has again made history... as Li Na herself said, everything begins from here and anything is possible."The 29-year-old Li now stands just one match away from a second straight Grand Slam final, having lost to Kim Clijsters in the Australian Open championship match at the start of the year.That performance was also history-making, as Li became the first Chinese player to reach a Grand Slam final.Footage from Li's win over Azarenka was repeatedly replayed on state television, while her photo was plastered on the front pages of many Chinese dailies."Big sister Li becomes more red on the red clay," said the headline in the Beijing News.Sina.com, one of China's most popular Internet portals, also put a picture of Li on the front page of its news site and provided in-depth coverage of her quest to reach the French Open final. Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
last modification 2011-06-02 07:30:46
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