PARIS — As China’s Li Na tossed the ball while serving at match point Saturday in the French Open final, a cry from a fan in the stands pierced the silence at Court Philippe Chatrier.
Distracted, Li stopped and let the ball drop. The words of support were in Mandarin: “Jia you!” — which loosely translates to “Let’s go!”
After so many years of “Come on” and “Allez” and “Vamos,” there’s a new language on the tennis landscape.
Li became the first Chinese player, man or woman, to win a Grand Slam singles title by beating defending champion Francesca Schiavone of Italy 6-4, 7-6 (0) at Roland Garros. The sixth-seeded Li used powerful groundstrokes to compile a 31-12 edge in winners, and won the last nine points of the match, a run that began when the fifth-seeded Schiavone was flustered by a line call she was sure was wrong.
“China tennis — we’re getting bigger and bigger,” said Li, who is projected to rise to a career-best No. 4 in Monday’s new WTA rankings.
She already was the first woman from that nation of more than 1 billion people to win a WTA singles title, the first to enter the top 10 in the rankings, and the first to make it to a Grand Slam final — she lost to Kim Clijsters at the Australian Open in January.
Thinking back to that defeat, Li said: “I had no experience. I was very nervous. For my second time in a final, I had the experience. I knew how to do it. And I had more self-confidence.”
Tennis is considered an elite sport in China, and while participation is rapidly increasing, it still trails basketball, soccer and table tennis, among others. But Li’s victory was big news back home, where the match finished shortly after 11 p.m. local time on a holiday weekend.
State broadcaster CCTV posted the banner, “We love you Li Na,” on its gushing coverage, and announcer Tong Kexin pronounced, “This has left a really deep impression on the world.”
Li broke away from the Chinese government’s sports system in late 2008 under an experimental reform policy for tennis players dubbed “Fly Alone.”
Li was given the freedom to choose her coach and schedule and to keep much more of her earnings. Previously, she turned over 65 percent to the authorities; now it’s 12 percent. That comes to about $205,000 of the $1.7 million French Open winner’s check.
Better late than never
Oldest women’s first-time major singles champions (Open era, 1968-present):
• x-Ann Jones, Britain, 1969 Wimbledon, 30 years, 8 months, 28 days
• Francesca Schiavone, Italy, 2010 French Open, 29-11-14
• Jana Novotna, Czech Republic, 1998 Wimbledon, 29-9-3
• Kerry Melville-Reid, Australia, 1977 Australian Open (January), 29-5-3
• Li Na, China, 2011 French Open, 29-3-9
x-won 1966 French Championships, pre-Open era
