Li to play local event

China Daily, June 10, 2011

Chinese fans of new French Open champion Li Na have another reason to be happy as the world No 4 has confirmed her participation at this year's China Open, which will be held in Beijing in October.

Li, whose best performance here was reaching last year's semifinals, is expected to draw a host of Chinese followers to the event.

"We believe Li Na's success at the French Open will attract more fans to the stadium to cheer for their idol and we hope she can deliver good performances," said the tournament's director, Zhang Junhui.

World No 1 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark has also promised to come and defend her championship in Beijing; a title which saw her rise to world No 1 last October.

On the men's side, Serbian defending champion Novak Djokovic, who had a 41-match winning streak this season until he lost to Roger Federer in the semifinals of French Open, will also defend his crown.

Joining him in the ATP 500 tournament will be former world No 1 and the 2008 champion Andy Roddick of the US and Australian Open semifinalist Fernando Verdasco of Spain.

This year's event will see the unveiling of the new center court at the National Tennis Center.

A promotional video for the event, which was shot in Miami in the spring, was released. The video features a lot of A-list celebrities of the sport, including Li, Wozniacki, Djokovic, Roddick, doubles stars Bob and Mike Bryan and two-time Grand Slam semifinalist Zheng Jie.