China clay star Li has Wimbledon down for next target

The Italian was attempting to successfully defend her title but, after 13 wins in a row at Roland Garros, she was beaten 6-4 7-6 (7/0) by Li Na in the final on Court Philippe Chatrier.

For the Chinese woman there was the elation of winning a first grand slam title at the age of 29, exactly the position Schiavone had been in 12 months earlier.

She said: “The impact of winning, there’s a big difference when you lose. But I’m happy to be here because now I can feel much more what I did last year. To be close to winning is very different to actually winning.

“But, at the same time, getting to the final again meant that I had the chance to take the trophy. There are a lot of emotions.”

More than 100m people were estimated to have watched Li’s triumph as she became the first Asian player to win a grand slam singles title.

The sixth seed was surprised that her breakthrough came at the French Open given she had never won a clay-court tournament before, and Schiavone hopes it will inspire more Chinese players to give the surface a go.

She said: “I can imagine many Chinese people were watching. I think it’s important also for them to know about clay over there.

“I think they play mostly just on hard courts. This can be a good start for them.”

Li has been at the forefront of China’s modest success in women’s tennis in recent years, reaching the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in 2006 and then the semi-finals at the Australian Open last year.

But it is this season she has positioned herself as a major force, losing to Kim Clijsters in the Australian Open final prior to Saturday’s brilliant win.

Li’s path to the top has not been straightforward. In 2002 she quit tennis to study journalism but returned two years later, and, for the last three years, she has been playing outside China’s official tennis programme after marrying coach Jiang Shan.

In April, following a poor run, she ditched Jiang and began working with Dane Michael Mortensen. A record of 14 wins and two defeats from three tournaments has followed.

Discussing her break from tennis, she said: “Before my ranking was always over 120 and I was playing in small tournaments. It was no challenge, so that is why I said I should stop and go to university to learn a different way. But I didn’t want my career in tennis to end like that so I had to change myself a little bit. fter two years, I thought it was the time to come back.”

Li has a good record at Wimbledon, reaching the last eight in 2006 and 2010, and, in what is expected to be another open tournament, the 29-year-old will surely fancy her chances.

It will not be until after the Championships that she will be able to go home to China to celebrate her historic win.