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PARIS: China's Li Na says her entry into the world top 10 has not created any unwanted extra pressure around her, despite her husband succumbing to nerves during her first-round match at the French Open.
Li, the sixth seed at Roland Garros, won 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3 against Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic on Tuesday, to set up a second-round meeting with Spanish qualifier Silvia Soler Espinosa.
The Chinese number one admitted it had been a “tough” encounter, and revealed that her husband, Jiang Shan, had had to creep out of the arena during the tense second set.
“He was nervous,” explained Li at her post-match press conference. “You know, it's different for players than for the people watching. If you're playing, you know what you need to do, but for the people sitting in the player's box, they don't know what to think.”
Li, ranked seventh in the world, has had to adjust to a higher profile after becoming the first Chinese player to reach the final of a Grand Slam at the Australian Open earlier this year.
Despite the added attention, Li insists she has no qualms about playing amid heightened expectations.
“I was happy with what I was doing in Melbourne,” said Li, who claimed her fourth career title in Sydney earlier this year.
“Also, if you're a player, you're obviously going to feel pressure, but I like the pressure. I'm happy with how things are going now. It's not bad.”
Li's rise up the world rankings has given her a much bigger profile in her native China, but she says strives to keep her day-to-day existence as normal as possible.
“I always try to do the same. I never want to change my life,” she said. “I still go to the same restaurants I went to before. If I'm in the street with a friend, of course people will say, 'Oh, there's the tennis player.'”
“Sometimes people's children or young people come and ask me for an autograph. But they still give me lots of room. I can still do things for myself. So, how famous? I'm not sure. You should ask the media from China.”
