Chinese tennis player Li Na didn’t win the Australian Open Championship on Saturday, but she still made the history books.
Li, who lost to Kim Clijsters of Belgium in three sets (3-6, 6-3, 6-3), is the first player from China to make it to a Grand Slam final.
The boss defeated a bit of the feel-good story for China and for Li, who on Thursday defeated No. 1 player Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinals in Melbourne. Li is ranked fifth.
In an interview Li said she was proud of her effort. “I think I play great tennis,” she said. “ I mean, she plays better than me. After the match, I make a joke: tennis should only play one set.”
Bai Yan, a member of China’s men’s national team member and Li Na’s friend, said the loss was disappointing, but still a bright starting point.
“To tell you the truth I feel a little bit down, all of us. But you know she is still the best, and she’s still our hero in everybody’s eyes,” said Bai. “This is just the start.”.
Win or lose, Li’s appearance in the Australian Open finals was seen as a major victory for tennis in China, where badminton and table tennis rules.
Fans across China gathered to watch the match. Li’s mother joined fans at a restaurant in her hometown of Wuhan. In Bejing, fans crowded together to watch China’s national tennis match.
“ Tennis is still relatively a new sport in China,” said Michael Chang, the Chinese-American who was the first Asian grand slam champion, in an interview with CNN. “ To be able to see Li Na have as much success as she has… this could be the start of something very special for tennis in China.”
“Li will definitely change the sport of tennis in China and that is a great thing,” Chang said.
小题1: What’s the main idea of the passage?
A．Chinese tennis star Li Na’s tennis career.
B．A fierce tennis match at Australian Open.
C．Chinese tennis star made history at Australian Open.
D．Chinese tennis r
emained to be tested and challenged.小题2: Which is true according to the passage?
A．Li Na’s failure let the Chinese down.
B．Li Na ranked fifth at Australian Open.
C．LI Na’s mother attended the mat
ch with her.
D．Li Na made a new starting point of China小题3:What’s the meaning of the u
nderlined words “tennis should only play one set” (Para 4)?
A．Li Na was not satisfied with the rule of tennis match.
B．Li Na was not satisfied with her own performance.
C．Li Na had a bad opinion of Clijsters.
D．Li Na took pride in her effort.小题4:According to what Chang said in the last two paragraphs, we can imply that ________.
A．it’s normal that Li Na failed because tennis is a new sport in China
B．Li Na has the advantage to change tennis sport in China
C．China still falls behind other countries in tennis sport
D．Li Na has great difficulty in defeating others because of weak ability
