MINUTES after prevailing in a two-and-a-half-hour epic against world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, Li Na was lambasting her husband for keeping her awake the night before with his snoring and forgetting the date of their wedding anniversary.

    Li bucks the stereotype that many people have about Chinese people.

    When asked what appeals most about being a champion, she gave the most honest answer possible while flashing a grin, “prize money.”

    She suggested that husband and coach Jiang Shan may have to find alternate sleeping arrangements ahead of the final.

    “I think today he can stay in the bathroom,” she joked.

    Li said her husband, a tennis player who played Davis Cup for China, helped a lot in her tennis career.

    “I think I have really been helped by my husband Jiang Shan becoming my coach,” Li told Australian media earlier this week.

    “But more important is the trust between us. I met him when I was 12 years old when we played in the same team in our hometown Wuhan. He can understand what I do on the court and he’s also a sports guy so he knows if I was nervous on the court, and why I was shouting or something like that, and more importantly he can understand.

    “If I had another coach maybe they wouldn’t understand and just think what is this stupid girl doing on the court.

    “Most importantly he knows what I do and the team knows what I need and what I want. He has taught me to calm down, to think about what I do. In fact, we have a good team where there is a lot of positivity.

    “I actually do not watch potential opponents playing on television. I leave that for my husband. This is the job of the coach not for the player. For me I just lie down in the bed and enjoy the night.

    “In fact, we do not talk about tennis very much together. Life is life, but tennis is a job. We certainly do not talk tennis 24 hours a day.

    “My father died when I was 14. My mum had to take care of everything so I couldn’t tell her what I wanted because it was hard for her. So I think I have always believed in hard work.”

    She knows her successes will be well received back home but her concerns are not for headlines, but for those kids dreaming of one day playing tennis themselves.

    “I think maybe because right now I come to the final, maybe many young players or children will see and think, maybe one day we can do the same or even better than her,” she said at the post-match conference Thursday.

    And she thinks her appearance in the final Saturday will just be the start of a succession of tough Chinese tennis players who will get their chance at the elite level.

    “For me, I think — or for all the Asia people — they’re strong mentally. And also, if they come to the tour for many years, they will have more experience they can use on the court,” she said.

    (SD-Agencies)