French Open 2011: Li Na Makes History with Epic Win over Francesca Schiavone

Two of the oldest female players to reach a final had eliminated all of their formidable opponents to reach one of the most anticipated matches in French Open history.

Francesca Schiavone was looking to repeat after her dramatic win last year. Li Na, the first Chinese woman to ever reach the final at Roland Garros was also looking to set a couple more records by becoming the first Chinese woman to capture the championship and a Grand Slam title.

Who would win? It would be a hard-fought battle.

In the opening set, these two women came out matching each other play for play. They brought it all to the court and were using everything in their arsenal.  Beautiful shots all over the court from both, great court coverage and excellent foot work. 

Their performance left you wondering, how in the world would either be able to win over the other?  Then, Li Na was able to get the break—a break that gave her that extra something mentally and physically to go on to win the set,  6-4.

Into the second set, for some reason, it seemed as if Schiavone had the wind knocked out of her game. She started making shots that normally would be very basic for her. Her precision was way off. She was making wide and long shots.

I think a combination of the wind and a little frustration after losing the first set was affecting her game.  As a result, Li Na was once again able to break Schiavone and actually had the opportunity to make it a double break.

But somehow, from somewhere, Schiavone found her second wind. She dug in, eliminating that opportunity and broke back. 

The momentum of the set turned in favor of Schiavone as Li Na’s game began to waiver.

In no time, Schiavone was up 6-5 and looked to have a set point opportunity…and then there was a call by the chair umpire ruling a shot by Li Na as in that Schiavone thought was out. As quickly as she was facing what she thought was a set point, it was gone, and Li Na was looking to tie things up at 6-6, forcing a tiebreaker. 

And that is just what happened.

It seemed as if Schiavone once again lost her momentum. Li Na, through a combination of her playing and Schiavone basically handing her points, was able to capture the 2011 French Open championship by winning the tiebreaker, 7-0.

Congratulations also to Schiavone because she’s an exceptional tennis player that gave her fans a lot to cheer for today even though she came up a little short. Hopefully, she will be able to regroup and once play for the title in Paris next year.

And so, the record book at Roland Garros closes for another year. What a women’s tournament. It was thrilling from start to finish.