China's Li has chance to make major history

MELBOURNE, Australia - None of the drama-packed story lines coming into the Australian Open involved the Great Wall of China.

Li Na wrote that one all by herself. The 28-year-old already made history by becoming the first Chinese tennis player to reach a Grand Slam final.

That will become a footnote if she wins the Australian Open tomorrow, which would make her the first Chinese player - and first Asian - to win a major singles title. Her only obstacle is U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters.

Li returned to the sport in 2004, after spending two years in college in a media-studies program. She took the rare step of breaking away from the state-run sports system in 2008 and hired her own coach. At the end of the 2010 season, she replaced former coach Thomas Hogstedt with her husband, Jiang Shan.

She says her greatest strength is mental. "Right now, I just feel more happy on the court," Li said.

On paper, the outcome would appear to be clear-cut. Clijsters is a year younger than Li but has three U.S. Open trophies among her 40 career titles. She is a former No. 1 who is ranked No. 3 and easily beat second-ranked Vera Zvonareva in their semifinal, 6-3, 6-3.

Li, who is 2-4 against Clijsters, has won four titles in her career and has no experience navigating the inevitable jitters of playing in a Grand Slam final. Yet she is building a steady reputation for incredible comebacks.

In yesterday's semifinal, Li saved a match point against top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki to win, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3. Li was asked how she overcame the 20-year-old Dane, who has been called a "backboard" and a "wall" because of her unrelenting ability to get balls back into play.

Said Li: "I think Chinese wall [is] more famous."