Rodriguez had to talk Li into playing Wimbledon after she told him she wanted to retire in the wake of the criticism that followed her early exit at the last French Open. He encouraged her to just to play and see how she went at the All England club before making such a big career decision. She responded by reaching the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, the semifinals at the U.S. Open and now breaking her drought in Australia.
On Saturday, she paid tribute to his calm, composed approach and support.
"Before the match he was telling me to relax, just think it's a match, don't think it's a final," she recounted, admitting that she'd even taken time out for a short afternoon sleep to help with nerves. "When he was coaching me, he always say `believe in yourself.' He always believed in me, I never believed in myself. That was my problem."
Now she's already promising to come back and defend her Australian title.
"Finally I got her," Li said as she put a hand on the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup for the first time. "Last two times was very close."
