Li Na, tennis star from Wuhan, China on verge of historic title

Li Na of China ousted three-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova of Russia 6-4, 7-5 to move one win away from an unprecedented major title at the French Open.

If Li Na wins and becomes the first Chinese player to win a Grand Slam, she will become even more famous in her one-billion strong China where she is already a household name.

She has been in this situation before, having reached the Australian Open final in January before bowing to eventual champion Kim Clijsters of Belgium. More than 65 million people of her compatriots cheered for her then as television sets in China aired the match.

Even as Li Na came up short in Melbourne , she is clearly the ambassador of tennis in China, where up to 14 million people are estimated to play the sport regularly.

After his near-win at the hard courts at the Australian Open, Li Na faltered in form in the next four events where she competed. She regained her form on the clay courts in Madrid and Rome leading up to the most prestigious clay court tournament at Roland Garros.

"There was a lot of attention from sponsors, from the media, everything was coming at once," the 29-year-old Li Na said at a press conference. "After making the final, I'd be somewhere training for a match and someone would come and say 'hello', so I couldn't focus 100 percent on the court."

To meet all the heavy expectations, Li Na needs all the focus she can get in tomorrow's French Open final against returning champion Francesca Schiavone of Italy.