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Perfect timing for Li's second comeback

By Zhao Rui (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-06-20 09:22

After another four-month absence from the Tour due to injury, China's top singles player Li Na has given the national tennis team a shot in the arm by launching her much-needed comeback less than two months before the Beijing Olympics.

China's Li Na returns the ball to Italy's Karin Knapp during the semi-finals of the Proximus Diamond Games tennis tournament in Antwerp February 16, 2008. [Agencies]

The 25-year-old Li, who underwent right knee surgery in Germany in late April, returned to action this week at the Eastbourne Open, a warm-up event for Wimbledon. Li exited the tournament in the second round, losing to Russian Nadia Petrova 2-6, 7-6 (5), 3-6.

"I feel OK this time," Li said. "I am happy to see I am still able to cause problems for Petrova. She is one of the best players in the world.

"I am also happy to see myself healthy again just two months ahead of the Olympics.

"I will try to recover step by step to regain my fitness, strength and speed. I have 50 days to prepare for the Games so I think time is not a problem."

For Li, the next and only tournament ahead of the Games is Wimbledon, which gets underway on Monday. She will then return to China with the national team for a month-long closed-door training session in Beijing.

Her best result at Wimbledon was in 2006, when she made it to the quarterfinals. She missed the tournament last year with a rib injury.

This is the second comeback Li has made this year - she made her first in January after returning from a rib inflammation that sidelined her for six months and threatened her Olympic dream.

The injury-prone star has a habit of coming back strong from injury. She knocked off three top-20 players upon her return in January to win her second career title in Australia's Gold Coast. She then outclassed world No 6 Anna Chakvetadze and world No 4 Jelena Jankovic to make the semifinals in Antwerp before the knee injury forced her out again.

"I think it's because I had so much rest after I had the surgery. You just feel everything is so fresh when you return to the court," Li said. "The Olympics is the No 1 tournament in my life so the most important thing for me is not to get injured again."

World No 48 Li is China's best hope to win a singles medal at the Games. Her No 16 ranking was the highest of any Chinese player last year. Li has also beaten a number of elite players over the years, including Jankovic, Elena Dementieva and Kim Clijsters.

And even though a podium finish may be a difficult goal for Li to achieve, she remains confident.

"Our target is to win medals in both singles and doubles events at the Games. We will fight for it," she said.

"We already showed our depth on the Tour. Zheng Jie and Yan Zi also have defeated top players in major tournaments, so I won't say it is a goal that is out of reach for us."

Five-member team

China's head coach Jiang Hongwei has reason to cheer beyond Li's return - all five of his top players earned Olympic berths.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced on Sunday that China gained full entrance to the Games with two doubles pairs - Australian and Wimbledon doubles titlists Zheng and Yan, and Peng Shuai and Sun Tiantian - joining Li in China's Olympic lineup. Peng, ranked No 52, will also play singles matches alongside Li.

Officials are delighted but admit the team has yet to find its best form.

"Getting the tickets means the first step toward the Games was successful," said Gao Shenyang, vice-president of the Chinese Tennis Association.

"We were a little worried about that before the French Open, but now we feel kind of relieved because good results are out of the question if you cannot send your best players to the Games.

"But the tickets do not guarantee anything. Our players are not playing at their best level right now and we have yet to see any sparkling shows like what we have over the past two years."

Both pairs were ousted in the third round of the French Open last month and Zheng, who also made it to the third round, was China's best singles player. Peng lost in the second round and Yan, ranked No 42, bowed out in the first round.

"We want them to focus on the ball and forget about the pressure," Gao said. "That's why we want them to return right after Wimbledon for the closed-door training.

"The pressure on their shoulders is way too much, so to reduce some media exposure and keep them away from attention for a while will be helpful to their final preparation for the Olympics."