Li Na surprises the Tennis World with upset of Schiavone at the French Open

Li Na in 2010

Li Na quit tennis in 2004 in order to attend University in China-- out of frustration with her game.

She came back two years later with a fresh determination to become the world's top female player.

After reaching the finals of the Australian open in January of this year- and losing to Kim Clijsters in 3 sets- she showed her true metal by defeating last year's French Open winner Francesca Schiavone in straight sets 6-4, 7-6 (0).

In an earlier blog on the Australian open, I waxed near ecstatic in describing the gifted talents of Schiavone in first defeating Kutsnetsova and playing inspiring tennis against the world's number one, Wozniacki in the final set. (See Schiavone electrifies the tennis world).

What enabled Li Na to defeat her opponent was her true grit and her determination early on to hit deep to her opponent. This she did with such consistency and accuracy that Li shut down Schiavone's aggressive game at the service line.

Congratulations to you, Li.
Photo (1) courtesy of wikipedia