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Li Na has often been described as temperamental and even been accused of having a weak mentality.

But the 24-year-old from Wuhan has lived through the criticism and has proved her talent as she raced up the rankings from 277 in 2002 to a career high 16 ahead of last month's Australian Open.

At last year's Wimbledon, Li became the first Chinese player to reach the quarterfinals of a grand slam singles before losing to Belgian Kim Clijsters.

"I won't forgive myself if I get eliminated in the first round at the grand slams," Li said after pushing Martina Hingis to three sets in the fourth round of the Australian Open this year.

A former badminton player, Li made her debut in international tennis in 1999 and rose to become China No. 1 soon after claiming four ITF titles. But she put an abrupt end to her promising career in 2002 and entered the Science and Technology University of Central China.

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