China falls in Hopman; Li not yet done
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Shanghai Daily, January 4, 2012
![Li Na of China returns a ball at the Hopman Cup against Spain's Garrigues on Jan. 3, 2012.[Source:Sina.com]](http://images.china.cn/attachement/gif/site1007/20120104/0013729928e6106de8f306.gif "Li Na of China returns a ball at the Hopman Cup against Spain's Garrigues on Jan. 3, 2012.[Source:Sina.com]") |
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Li Na of China returns a ball at the Hopman Cup against Spain's Garrigues on Jan. 3, 2012.[Source:Sina.com] |
Li Na has revealed her desperation to win another major championship before time is called on her career.
The French Open champion continued her individual form resurgence at the Hopman Cup in Perth yesterday but was unable to prevent China's 1-2 defeat by Spain in the mixed teams event.
The world No. 5 peeled off 18 forehand winners to beat Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-3, 6-1 but that was as good as it got for China. Spain's Fernando Verdasco made light work of the lowest-ranked player in the tournament, world No. 424 Wu Di, cruising through 6-3, 6-4 as third-seed and undefeated Spain moved closer to a place in final.
Li's ball striking and court movement have been impeccable thanks to an intensive four-week training camp in Munich during the off-season.
The 29-year-old, however, said she could hear the clock ticking on her career.
"I am not young any more and I do not have time to waste," Li told reporters.
"I have to focus every second of every tournament I play to make the most of the time I have left. That is why I stayed in Munich for so long... to get my body healthy and strong," she added.
"This is a good warm-up but Australian Open will be very different. It's hot, it's outside, everybody will be fighting on the court. In Munich, I had four weeks of no interviews, no photos shoots, only tennis training.
"It was tough, six hours of training a day, two or three hours on the court but mostly it was for fitness because I want to be healthy for a whole season. I have had knee and back injuries and I don't want that again."
Li denied she had any immediate retirement plans.
"At the moment my body feels fit so I can't think about how many years until I retire," she added.
"One day I might wake up and say 'I'm tired, I don't want to do this any more.' Then I will stop. But now I can think I can play as well as the first half of 2011. Maybe in 2012, I play even better."
Verdasco was merciless in the singles and ruthless in the mixed doubles.
"It is really hard to return a man's serve," Li said. "I asked Wu Di 'what am I supposed to be doing? How do I play this?' It's just totally different, but good practice for the women players."
