Chapter 7 Chapter 3 Showdown

In the final, my opponent was Schiavone. The Italian star was last year's French Open women's singles champion and the invincible queen of clay courts.We have played against each other four times before. The last time we played against each other was at the French Open last year when Schiavone beat me.After being defeated by her, I had nowhere to vent my sadness and disappointment, and went crazy to buy an extremely expensive luxury ring.After buying that ring, I seldom wear it. I thought again of the Innocent Ring, and the Susan Lundgren Cup I had been looking up to.Susan Lenglen is one of the greatest women's tennis players in history. To commemorate her, the French Open women's championship trophy is named after her.She is my idol, my hero.And I, for the first time, got so close to my hero.My heart is singing, my soul is shouting, and the "Li Na" deep in my heart is roaring.I know, me and "she" want this victory so badly.

This time, I wasn't as excited as I was when I reached the Australian Open final in January, when I was one step away from winning a Grand Slam title for the first time.This is my second Grand Slam final and I know I can't stop here.Last time I didn't have much experience, but this time, I know what I should do.I must be calm. Schiavone is a respectable opponent. This veteran has comprehensive skills, outstanding defense, tenacious style, and flexible tactics. He is a very difficult opponent.Our friendship off the court is actually good, we have many similarities: we are both "late bloomers" in the tennis world, I am already 29 years old, and Szi will soon be 31; We, the No. 5 and No. 6 seeds, are not considered favorites to win the championship; we have similar playing experiences, and this final is the second time for both of us to go to the Grand Slam final.The difference is that the Italian veteran already holds a Grand Slam championship trophy in his hands.

The day of the final was sunny and sunny.I played more proactively in the first set and restrained Siqi's momentum.But in the second set she fought back violently, which caused me a lot of trouble, and we drew all the way to the tie-break. Victory is ahead! I felt my heart pounding, and not even Szi's high-pitched "ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"." It's now! I scored 7 points in a row, but Si Qi's pace was a little messy, and the tiebreak ended 7:0!I won! At that moment, my heart was beating violently, as if it was going to jump out of my chest, I couldn't do anything, I could only lie on my back on the ground.The bright sunshine of France poured down on me, and I covered my face with my hands, wanting to cry, but the tears couldn't flow.

Before the game, I secretly thought about what kind of look I should put on if I won the championship, but when the moment of victory really came, I fell down without thinking about anything. The 1 hour and 48 minute battle was over and I won the Susan Lundgren Trophy. After lying down for a few seconds, I got up by myself.The most important reason is that I don't want Schiavone to wait.It’s hard to lose to an opponent in a final, I’ve lost myself, I know what it’s like.I had a good relationship with Schiavone off the pitch and I didn't want to upset her. I got up from the ground and hugged her.

After letting go of Szi, I looked to the sidelines and saw them—all in my team were wearing yellow T-shirts, hugging each other very excitedly, Jiang Shan, Coach Mortensen, Shi Ling, Susan (Susan) Responsible for managing the global women's tennis players, serving all women players).They were all sitting there, this yellow top Nike made only 50 pieces, just to stand out. I didn't see their expressions clearly at the time, and I didn't have time to ask them how everyone reacted until dinner at night, because I didn't see it.Everyone's answer was the same: "Li Na, you got up too fast."

There was also an oomph when the awards were presented, the presenters mistakenly awarded my mini replica trophy to Schiavone - there were two Susan Lenglen trophies on the field at the time, the big one was for post-match The winners take photos as souvenirs, and the small ones can be taken home for private storage.The guest mistakenly awarded the small cup to Schiavone as the runner-up prize, and Schiavone whispered to me, "It's wrong, it's wrong", so I was amused at the time, and said, "It doesn't matter, let's take a photo, let's know for ourselves That's it."

After the awards were presented, reporters from CCTV 5 were very excited when they interviewed me, and they were choked up when they spoke, but I was fine.The initial excitement is over, it's just one game, and it doesn't seem to be any different from any other.But everyone around me was thrilled.There is a video on the Internet, which is the process of me clapping hands with the caddy and returning to the locker room after the interview.I came out of the locker room and went up two floors to the right and saw my coach, Michael Mortensen, doing an interview, and I hugged him.He said: "I'm very proud of you!" After I hugged Michael, I hugged Jiang Shan again, and the people around us booed and wanted us to kiss.After that, I hugged Lu Lin, the coach of the women's team at the time, and Shi Ling.When I hugged Shi Ling, my tears started to flow down, because Shi Ling was already crying.When I gave my acceptance speech and said "Happy Birthday" to Shi Ling in Wuhan dialect, she kept crying.

After hugging them, I went back to the locker room. Schiavone just changed into casual clothes and went to the press conference. Schiavone is indeed a veteran with a broad mind. She even came over and patted me approvingly, saying to me: " Enjoy your time!" Susan came back with me to help me change my clothes and make up.I didn't feel hungry at all, but Susan insisted that I eat something, because there was a long press conference ahead, followed by a urine test after the conference, and then continued to take pictures.Susan made a special trip to buy me a sandwich. I didn't eat much, I couldn't eat it at all.

After playing for such a long time, I was already very tired, and my legs were cramping when I changed my shoes, but strangely, I didn't feel tired or hungry, and I was still intoxicated by the thrill after winning. When I went back to the dressing room again and changed my skirt and boots, I looked at the empty dressing room in front of me and remembered how crowded the dressing room was when I first came to the French Open. I couldn't help feeling mixed feelings.This is the locker room, which has witnessed the glory and dreams, laughter and tears of so many players. The more people are beaten, the fewer people are beaten. In the final, there are only me and Si Qi left. Now, I am the only one sitting here in the empty space. in the locker room.

On the day of the award, I also had a magical experience. When I was waiting for the press conference in the lounge, Navratilova (Oh my God! It was really her!) came to me and said: "I am someone who has been here, I Now tell you, from now on you have to learn to say 'no'. Because everyone wants you now, you have to choose what suits you, and you have to create a protective circle for yourself." I was almost stunned. Navratilova is one of the greatest players in tennis history. She is an evergreen tree in tennis. She has won 59 (oh my god! 59!) Grand Slam titles. Known as "Female King Kong".She was 50 years old at the time, wearing a half-sleeved shirt and casual trousers, elegant and refined, with a radiant look. You feel like an old friend, and she will help you by telling you everything she knows.

A few years ago, before she retired, I saw her on the court. Once she came to ask me whether my surname was Li or Na. Such a great player came to me and asked how such an unknown person should pronounce me. Name, which makes me feel a little flattered.In my opinion at the time, a person like Navratilova was out of reach, and I had no chance to communicate with her at all, but now she comes to me to say this, it feels like between friends Just like the communication in China, there are no barriers, no nationality and age restrictions.My gushing tribute to Navratilova added a touch of graciousness. I was going to wear another suit of casual clothes for the press conference, but the Nike staff rushed to my side half an hour before the press conference and handed me the new T-shirt.As soon as their flight from Beijing to Paris landed, the staff rushed to the venue of the press conference non-stop. I put on a T-shirt and went to the press conference.The press conference lasted for two full hours.The expressions of the reporters were very excited. A new champion from China may mean that tennis in China and even Asia will open a new chapter. Most of the questions revolve around this core. At the beginning, all the reporters asked questions together. While I was answering the questions, I glanced at the big trophy from the corner of my eye from time to time.I once missed the championship trophy on the court of the Australian Open. Today, on the court of Roland Garros Center Court, I finally got my wish. I held it carefully like a baby. A hard-earned baby. The press conference after winning the championship lasted about two hours.According to the arrangement of the organizing committee, we will rush to the Eiffel Tower to take pictures at 8:00 pm.That day, there were many Chinese people holding national flags waiting for me outside the arena. They said they wanted to take pictures with me. I am sorry to say that I am in a hurry, so I can only take a photo with everyone. When we arrived at the Eiffel Tower, many journalists were already waiting there.The summer days in Europe are relatively long. In Paris in June, the sky is still bright at 8 o'clock in the evening.It was very windy that day, and there was a newly married Chinese couple there.When I walked over to take pictures, I heard the bride ask her husband in a low voice, "Is this Li Na?" Now on the Internet, you should be able to find a video posted by the French Open Organizing Committee on the Internet, which was also taken by the reporter in the locker room.I remember when I was talking to the referee, I was a little distracted and saw a lot of letters written by fans on the sofa on the other side.Letters sent to me by fans are usually sent to the WTA, which sends them to the Chinese national team, and then the national team hands them over to me.I usually read letters from fans.If there is something to sign, I will sign it and send it back to them.There are many letters from abroad, and careful fans will attach a stamped envelope with the letter. I just need to put my signature into the envelope they prepared, and then put it in the mailbox. Later, a friend told me: During my competition, CCTV Sports Channel changed the broadcast plan for two consecutive days.In order to broadcast the quarter-finals between me and Azarenka, CCTV Sports Channel changed the original program arrangement.And the time when Sharapova and I were in the semi-finals was supposed to broadcast matches of other sports according to the original plan, but CCTV finally pointed the camera at the Philippe Chartier Stadium (Philippe Chartier is a French tennis legend character, the No. 1 Center Court of the Roland Garros Tennis Center is named after him).This news makes me more happy than the victory over Sharapova, because all these signs are showing that tennis is getting more and more attention from the Chinese people.I'm really gratified that the sport I love is gaining more and more attention and respect in the country I love, and all of this has something to do with my efforts. I have a strong affection for tennis.I have been playing tennis since I was 8 years old, and almost my entire life is now tied to tennis.I have devoted too much effort and affection to tennis, just like my father placed too much hope and love on me back then.Unfortunately, my father left me in a hurry when I was a child.Today, I finally reached the pinnacle of tennis. And I just want to say to him gently: Dad, I did it.