Coach says Li Na rose up to challenge against Serena

Beijing: Chinese tennis player Li Na`s coach Carlos Rodriguez has said that he was proud of how this year`s Australian Open finalist played against Serena Williams in the WTA Championships final because it showed him what she can do if she was asked to.

According to China Daily, Li, who just clinched her career-best world No 3 coming into the night, challenged Williams from the very start with a barrage of flaring plays, including some fantastic volleys and penetrating backhands, and stormed to a 6-2 win after breaking the American twice. However, Williams somehow found her best form again and took over the match from a 3-3 tie in the second set and reeled off the next games to extinguish an exhausted Li`s hope of lifting her second title in the season, the report said. The well-known tennis coach said that what was important was that he saw Li Na found some very good things because Serena pushed her to a higher level. Rodriguez added that Li played a level of tennis she was not used to playing, and to have the courage to always make some volleys and win some points was not easy. The Argentine coach also thinks Li Na has grown a lot by opening up to people more, the report added.