Li sets sights on year-end Doha championships

Dubai: China's Li Na does not want to depart with any regrets after falling to Israel's Shahar Peer in the singles quarterfinals of the 2010 Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships yesterday.

"If you do well in the Melbourne semifinal, you couldn't play well every tournament and make a semifinal in every other tournament that you play. I mean, this is tennis," Li said.

"You could do well in one tournament or you do your best in the second and third as well. But you can't be consistent all along. You are always going to be up and down," she said after being forced to pull out due to a back injury while trailing Peer 5-7, 0-3.

"At the end of the first set, I was hitting a high backhand, and then I heard like a creak, and I was feeling like, Oh, my God. And after the first set I called the trainer and she checked. And then I went and tried two more games. But I was feeling worse, so I pulled out." the Chinese player explained.

Li Na joined countrywoman Zheng Jie to become the first pair of Chinese in a Grand Slam semifinal last month.

Golden Flowers

However, despite both of them going down in contrasting fashion, they earned the nickname "Golden Flowers" back home for their feat.

But she still does not see her life changing drastically.

"I can still walk on the street and I can still do anything I want to. Yeah, there are just more people who want to take photos or get autographs with me," she smiled.

"I enjoy that because now there are many people who know me."

Li's career has been plagued by injuries, forcing her to take lengthy breaks, and along with it, the chance to be better ranked in the world.

At the height of her career she lost several months of the 2005 season to an ankle injury and then the second half of 2007 to a rib injury.

"I think I want to play the year-end Championships [in Doha, Qatar] and then also do well in Asia and the Asian Games [in China] at the end of the year. And of course there are the Grand Slams," Li added.