2014 in review: Li Na brings the house down in Melbourne
Originally published on 22/12/14
Tennis will miss Li Na, who announced her retirement in September after failing to recover from a knee injury. The first Asian Grand Slam singles champion was especially loved at the Australian Open, where her post-match interviews lit up the tournament like an evening barbecue on the beach at St Kilda.
There could have been no more fitting place for the 31-year-old Chinese to win her second Grand Slam title. She took the chance at the trophy ceremony to thank her agent, Max Eisenbud, and her husband, Jiang Shan, whom she had publicly teased in the past about his snoring and their credit card.
“Max, my agent,” Li said. “He made me rich. Thanks a lot.”
Turning to the long-suffering Jiang, Li said: “Thanks to my husband, now so famous in China. He’s my hitting partner, fixes the drinks, fixes the rackets. You do a lot of jobs. Thanks a lot. You are a nice guy. You were lucky to find me.”
This is an excerpt from "2014: That Was The Year That Was" in Volume 5 Issue 6. Subscribe to the magazine today or download tennishead on iTunes.