CNN 2011-02-08

Well, some history has been made in the semi-final at the Australian Open. Chinese player Li Na upset the world No.1 top seed, Caroline Wozniacki.She is the first Chinese player, in fact the first Asian player to reach a grand slams single’s final. Sam Grant is in Beijing to tell us more about the excitement that this is all generating 1 I know stand from my  time in China that whenever the Chinese reached the final that anything like this, the country can go kind of a little nuts.

They go their nuts on Saturday when the final play drop,you know last year, 500,000 people watched on one, one Beijing television station when she made the semi-final in Sydney, so this time it is gonna be the final .You can multiply that many many times over, right across China.

You are right, this is another step forward, not just for Li Na but for China. We had Yao Ming in the basketball, Liu Xiang in the athletics 2 when he had gold medal Athen’s sports world champion hurdler, as well as now Li Na. She’s done it .The hard way has to be said, you know, she is 29 years old .That’s consider getting out there. In tennis term, most people are sort of arounded 19 and 20 mark when they get reach their first finals.Since she had to overcome Caroline Wozniacki who is the world No.1. She was actually down on match point. In the second set, she lost the first set. Match point in the second set,came back and save that, then won that second set. Then on the first set, she was asked after what inspired her, and she said the prize money, so she said it got her priority 3 straight. You know she suffered a lot with injuries in the past. it has been said that had impeded 4 her progress, but a huge reaction is coming in that eye and the prize money, John.

And, what else do you know about Li Na?We know that as you said, she is a little old. She’s 29 years of age. She’s a product of some fairly strict Communist style sports training in the past. Her father was dead. Her mother raised her. What else we know?

Yeah, she headed to a really, up against the officials. So she is fairly rebellious 5 character. You know she stood up to the Chinese officials to demand to do it her own way. She wanted to set her own schedule, had her own coaching. She won that battle. Her husband is now her coach. This could all have been so different. She’s goaled to be a badminton player, and she was a part of the badminton stream when she was young and recognized as a potential athlete, but her coach saw her playing, and said “look, she plays more like a tennis player rather than a badminton player”,switched her and then of of course that she’s gone on to successful tennis player. She said,she mentioned that her parents. Her father past away when she was young. She credited very much her mother with being a big inspiration 6 and giving her will to go on.

Her mother though has never seen a match.She didn’t watch a day. She hasn’t watched any of her deal with the pressure. Interesting to see, John.She actually watches on satellite before I go, there were already some tweets coming out, you are like some of these. Don’t look just the NBA now, so not just talking about basketball but rivals in tennis. It is a miracle that Li Na is making history for Chinese people everywhere.And how's this one ?May Li Na bring power to support the Chinese stock market.John.