Her appearance in a second Melbourne final has cemented her standing as a leading Chinese sports figure: Yao has retired, Liu is hampered by injury and the rising swimming star, Sun Yang, has yet to reach his full potential.

Piers Newbery, a senior BBC tennis reporter who regularly follows Li, said her strong character distinguishes her from other Chinese athletes. "It's really interesting, because she is more individual," Newbery said in an interview with China Daily ahead of the final. "We saw China's success at the Olympics, but we didn't get to know the individuals. Probably (because) they don't speak English in interviews. Li Na is a success outside of the Olympics. She does great interviews, she makes everyone out there laugh and her press conferences are always entertaining. It will definitely help her gain more international acceptance. Ultimately, people will be interested in the personality beyond the nationality."

World recognition

John Pye, the Asia-Pacific sports editor of Associated Press, predicted that Li will eventually achieve even greater international recognition than Yao: "I would say that Yao remains the most renowned sports figure in China in the eyes of foreigners, but he's retired from sport's center stage. With his influence declining, I think Li will probably step up to become the new darling," he said.

Despite the pain and the tears she wept during an interview with China Central TV after the Melbourne final, Li rediscovered her confidence and is eyeing an even brighter future.

"I've doubted whether I could come back over the past 600 days (since the win at Roland Garros in Paris). But I started to trust myself again (to win another major) at the end of last year and figured out that what I could improve is my altitude and mental control," she admitted.

Off-court distractions and a loss of form saw Li's career slump after the French Open. She failed to claim a title for 18 months until Carlos Rodriguez, the former mentor of seven-time Grand Slam winner Justine Henin, became her coach in the summer.

At their first tournament together, in Cincinnati, Li won her sixth title before moving on to claim a seventh championship in Shenzhen last month.

Rodriguez's tough training regime and mental tune-up work helped Li to improve her serve and emotional management en route to the Australian Open final, without dropping a set. "It's been a long, grinding journey for me. No one but me knows how hard it has been," she said.

By winning the 2011 French Open, Li became Asia's first Grand Slam singles winner. [Photo/Xinhua]