Once troubled by her relations with the national team, China's
top tennis player Li Na ended the turmoil on Sunday by leading her
team to its first-ever Fed Cup World Group II victory at the Bung
Karno Tennis Stadium in Jakarta.
Li, now No 56 on the WTA Rankings, wrapped up two singles
matches in a landslide 4-0 win over Indonesia and said the team'
support gave her the belief to win the match.
"The victory is incredible," she said after winning the third
match of the tie. "The Fed Cup means a lot for me, it makes me
energized.
"My coach and teammates always supported me in the match and it
is the key that makes me survive the tough condition to win the
game."
Li took the decisive third singles match by defeating World No
620 Angelique Widjaja 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in the 2 1/2-hour marathon amid
1,000 crazed Indonesian fans.
"I felt exhausted after winning the last point and that's a
hard-fought victory," she said.
On Saturday, Li Outclassed Romana Tedjakusuma 6-3, 6-4 and world
No 65 Peng Shuai beat Widjaja 6-3, 6-0.
The doubles match between Peng / Yan Zi and Ayu Fani Damayanti /
Septi Mende was cancelled due to heavy rain but the result was
already clear.
China has now entered the World Group I qualifers, which takes
place in July to decide the country's possible spot among the top
eight countries in the world.
Li, who became the first Chinese player to win a WTA title
atGuangzhou International in 2004, smashed the national team after
losing in the first round of China Open last year.
"I got confused about my future in the team and I didn't make
any progress over years," Li said.
She repeated the similar assault during the Tenth National Games
a month later.
China's tennis chief Sun Jinfang said Li's her chances at the
Beijing Olympics is in doubt, as she failed to meet the mental
requirement of the national team.
The 24-year-old Li, who has created China's top ranking at No 33
last October, suffered a slow start this season, losing in the
first round at the Australian Open when her teammates Zheng Jie,
who teamed up with Yan, clinched the historic doubles title.
Li then bounced back in March as she cruised to her 200th career
singles match win after reaching the fourth round at Indian Wells
and also made the second round at Miami, Florida, bowing to
eventual runner-up Maria Sharapova of Russia.
The Chinese team led by captain Jiang Hongwei has returned to
China yesterday morning to get prepared for clay-court
competitions.
Six Chinese women's players, including Zheng, Li, Peng, Yan, Sun
Tiantian and Yuan Meng, made the main draw of the coming French
Open.
Impressive progress has been seen in China's tennis since Li
Ting and Sun pocketed the women's doubles gold medal at the 2004
Athens Olympic Games.
The sizzling women's players then continued the flow in dramatic
fashion, highlighted by the fast improvements on the WTA
Rankings.
Four Chinese players made the top 100 with Zheng at 48, Li at
56. Peng at 65 and Yan at 77.
(China Daily April 25, 2006)