Li vows to 'fight like crazy' for Wimbledon crown
China's tennis star Li Na vowed to "fight like crazy" at Wimbledon to
keep alive her bid to win a second Grand Slam crown.
The 2011 French Open champion is one of only five seeds left in her
half of the draw -- though those remaining include the only two ranked
above her: title holder Serena Williams and last year's beaten finalist
Agnieszka Radwanska.
However, the Chinese sixth seed in in buoyant mood and insists she
will never roll over in the face of a challenge.
The dearth of seeds is "good for me", the 31-year-old said.
"At least I am still in on Monday," she said, when she faces Italian
11th seed Roberta Vinci for a place in the quarter-finals.
"Now we have a lot of young players coming up. Of course, we can see
so many young faces, as well.
"This is tennis. You can imagine always to have some players on the
draw. That's why this is an amazing sport because you never know who can
be in the next round."
Li is in combative mood going into week two of the tournament. She
went out in the second round on her previous two Wimbledon outings,
though her best performances were in 2006 and 2010 when she reached the
quarter-finals.
"I'm still hanging in there. Fight like crazy, but still at least I
will be in the second week of Wimbledon," she said. "If I didn't play my
best tennis, the only thing I can do is fight on the court. I don't
really want to go home.
"Sometimes I was thinking I was fighting a lot on the court. So if
Carlos (Rodriguez, her coach) says keep fighting, that means I can do it
even more.
"If the chair umpire didn't say game, set and match, you always have
chance.
"I never give up."
The Wuhan right-hander had to rely on that spirit to get through her
third round match on Saturday.
She came through a disjointed encounter with 32nd seed Klara
Zakopalova, winning 4-6, 6-0, 8-6 in a two-hour contest after nearly
blowing it in the final set. However, despite going a break down for 6-5
in the deciding set, Li recovered her nerve to finish off her Czech
opponent.
She thinks Vinci will prove quite a different challenge on Monday. Li
has won all three of their previous matches, in 2001, 2006 and 2011.
"A Grand Slam is the perfect thing because you don't have to play
every day. Between them you have one day off, so you can prepare for
your next match," she said.
"We had so many years and didn't play face to face. For sure a tough
match.
"She has pretty good slice on the backhand. Not so many girls are
used to doing that, especially on a grass court. So I have to rally and
fight." |