Tennis in Europe is not as good as before and in the US, it is almost dead. But Asia has the players and infrastructure to develop the sport.
“She (Henin) has a view that people in China are friendly and respectful, and they like to learn,” Rodriguez said in a recent interview.
“That’s very good as they are trying to do good and achieve big things.
“In the beginning, she was not quite enthusiastic about coming here. When she came here for the first time for a three-week practice last year, she loved it.”
Following her retirement from tennis in January this year, Henin has been running an academy founded in 2007 in Belgium, while Rodriguez manages and coaches children and teens at the set-up in the Chinese capital.
The great interest in the sport in China and Asia has turned up a notch after Li Na became China’s first singles Grand Slam winner. She beat Francesca Schiavone of Italy 6-4, 7-6 in the French Open final last Saturday.
Li Na has climbed to the No. 4 spot in the world rankings, equalling the achievement of Japan’s Kimiko Date-Krumm in 1995.
Rodriguez said Li Na saved the women’s tennis world, proving that there was hope of more champions in the making from Asia, while other continents found it hard to produce potential winners.
“Tennis in Europe is not as good as before. In the United States, tennis is almost dead as there are no players. We can use Li Na in a good way to develop tennis in China and Asia,” he enthused.
“I promise you that she is going to be the model for a lot of kids and players from China, Thailand and Malaysia. Now, they are going to say that if she can do it, it’s possible for them to do it as well.”
When Schiavone sent a backhand return wide at matchpoint in a tie-break, China erupted in joy at the historic win by 29-year-old Li Na.
According to TV ratings released by China Central Television, about 116 million people stayed up late at night to watch the match which was broadcast over the CCTV-5 sports channel.
Soon after the victory, famous Chinese athletes expressed their joy on their microblogs. NBA basketball player Yao Ming said: “Congrats to Li Na; she created history in French Open!”
Former Olympic Games 110m hurdles winner Liu Xiang said: “Oh my God, it’s amazing! I will emulate you!”
TV host Yang Lan described Li Na as a superb and gracious athlete who held back her tears and showed unbelievable calm during the prize presentation.
Double Olympic diving champion Gao Min said: “I often hear people say they were excited when I won Olympic gold. Today I want to tell Li Na that I am extremely excited about her win!”
Even before Li Na’s Grand Slam win, China had seen gradual improvements at the top level of the game.
Its women’s doubles pair of Li Ting and Sun Tiantian made a major breakthrough in winning their first WTA title in Vienna in 2003 and followed this up with their historic win in the Athens Olympics in 2004.
Then, Zheng Jie and Yan Zi became the first Chinese players to achieve Grand Slam wins in the Australian and Wimbledon opens in 2006. Zheng Jie made further history in reaching the Wimbledon singles semi-finals in 2008.
In the Australian Open last year, Zheng Jie and Li Na made it to the singles semi-finals but lost to Henin and Serena Williams, respectively. In the same tournament early this year, Li Na lost to Kim Clijsters in the final.
Months later, she has stormed back to pick up the French Open. Li Na promised she would not be a one-Slam wonder.
“She has decided to stay back in Munich to prepare for the upcoming Wimbledon,” said Beijing Times tennis writer Sun Haiguang who covered the French Open.
“Her win has changed people’s perception that Asian players could not play well on clay courts. Asian players bloom at an older age.”
Rodriguez said China was a great place to work in as the nation produced a Grand Slam champion when tennis development was in its infancy, compared with Europe which produced champions at the height of its development programmes.
“We should go beyond China. Asia holds the key to the future of tennis and everything is going to happen in this part of the globe. You have the players and infrastructure to develop the sport here.”
There are 18 tournaments in Asia on the WTA and ATP tours but Rodriguez added that the governing bodies and organisers would need to bring more competitions to the region as the sport is becoming more popular.
source : thestar