After yesterday’s piece predicting glory for Chinese finest tennis player, I thought a follow up might be in order. Li Na battled from a set down to force a decider against the 4th seed Agneiszka Radwanska and saved seven match points in total, but finally succumbed 6-7, 6-4, 2-6 in what the Guardian called one of the most engaging matches of the tournament so far. So she won’t be winning Wimbledon any time soon, if ever.
Tag Archives: Tennis
Why Li Na will win Wimbledon
Sabine Lisicki, Petra Kvitova, Agneiszka Radwanska, Marion Bartoli, Sloane Stephens, Kaia Kanepi, Kirsten Flipkens.
Those are the names that stand between Li Na and this year’s Wimbledon title and none of them should cause her to quake in her Nikes. Following Lisicki’s stunning defeat of overwhelming favorite Serena Williams on Monday, the tournament is as open at this stage as it has been in years.
Asian endorsement deals still key in global sports market
Some thoughts for the weekend… I’ll say upfront that I’m not a huge fan of Forbes, particularly when it comes to their sports coverage, but their annual list of the world’s 100 highest paid athletes makes for interesting reading. Two things are clear: the money is still in the US – 63 of the athletes are American; 73 are US-based – but the sponsorship business is a global one.
Continue reading Asian endorsement deals still key in global sports market
Guan blossoms, Li blows
Thursday was a mixed day of sport for China.
Let’s start with the good: 14-year-old golfer Guan Tianlang – he of Masters fame – looks well on his way to making his third cut in four PGA Tour events this year, playing at the Memorial Tournament at the invitation of Jack Nicklaus. Despite two bogeys in the last three holes, his even-par round of 72 was good enough for =41st place after Round 1. This is a strong field: 20 of the 120 players have one at least one major, and Guan is ahead of 12 of them.
Weekly Wrap: Optimistic Americans, Struggling Print Journos and Manny’s Dreadlocks
Tennis, baseball, both forms of football, badminton, athletics and mahjong all feature in this week’s wrap…
Continue reading Weekly Wrap: Optimistic Americans, Struggling Print Journos and Manny’s Dreadlocks
World Top 50 Most Marketable Athletes: 8 Brits, 0 Chinese
Lists like SportsPro magazine’s Most Marketable Athletes [full list below] are equal parts inspired and enraging. I love the fact that Brazilian Paralympian Alan Oliveira (no. 17) is included, combining his age, talent and good looks with the undoubted boost to Brazilian sport that the next World Cup and Olympics will bring, almost as much as I hate the selection of Seth Jones (39), who is largely unknown even within his own sport, and, at 18, may not even play a single NHL game in the next three years even if he later develops into an All-Star.
Continue reading World Top 50 Most Marketable Athletes: 8 Brits, 0 Chinese
Weekly Wrap: Yao Ming’s death and Other Stories
Yao Ming is sadly no longer with us. The seven-week-old giraffe in Houston named after the Chinese NBA star was put down after a month-long bone infection couldn’t be treated. Sorry for leading with a tearjerker – I promise the other stories will be more cheerful!
Continue reading Weekly Wrap: Yao Ming’s death and Other Stories
Li Na makes list one year too late
After Time recently named Li Na as one of the world’s top 100 most influential people, my first thought was about the Timing (sorry). Her breakout performance was her French Open win in 2011, so why have they taken this long to put her on the list? Yes, her brand has continued to grow, but her main sponsors jumped on board in summer 2011, immediately after her Grand Slam win.
Anyway, the point of these lists is to generate discussion, so job done there. Interestingly, while many have predicted that Li Na would soon overtake Maria Sharapova as the world’s highest earning sportswoman, Sharapova’s recent deal with Porsche could keep her in the lead for a little while longer.
Here’s this week Sports Talk column:
Influence is a somewhat fluid concept, particularly in connection with Time Magazine’s annual list of the world’s 100 most influential people.
To say that Italian soccer player Mario Balotelli – one of just four sports figures on the list – is more influential than Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo is farcical.
Is he more colorful, more controversial? Yes, on both counts, and those factors sell magazines, so let’s forgive Time their poetic license.
Continue reading Li Na makes list one year too late
Catfight between China and Japan over basketball player
Citizenship is always an issue in China, or more specifically, changing your citizenship. For one thing, you tend to need a lot of money. Chinese movie stars have taken up residence in other countries and faced accusations of being a traitor, but crossing borders in the sports world can be even more controversial.
Continue reading Catfight between China and Japan over basketball player
Next wave of Chinese tennis players set to make breakthrough
If Li Na’s French Open win was the earthquake, then here comes the tsunami.
I’ve written before about the crop of Chinese youngsters poised to make a breakthrough in the women’s game, and it looks like it might be happening.
Yesterday at the Malaysian Open, 21-year-old Wang Qiang beat former world number 1 and the tournament’s top seed, Caroline Wozniacki 2-6, 7-6, 6-1 for the biggest win of her career.
Continue reading Next wave of Chinese tennis players set to make breakthrough