Marriage And Fatherhood Inspire Li On Court
Marriage And Fatherhood Inspire Li On Court
Marriage and fatherhood have brought Zhe Li to the best form of his career at age 29, but the Chinese star has his sights set on even bigger things to come.
Currently at a career-high Emirates ATP Ranking of No. 210, Li has cut his ranking in half over the past 12 months. After winning three ITF Futures events in China in the middle of the past year, he turned his attention to the ATP Challenger Tour at the end of 2015 and reached the quarter-finals of two Australian events in Traralgon and Canberra.
Li has opened his 2016 season strongly by reaching the quarter-finals of three ATP Challenger Tour events throughout Asia. This week at the Challenger event in Shenzhen, he recorded one of the biggest wins in his career by defeating World No. 102 Daniel Gimeno-Traver in the opening round. He credits his coach, Christophe Lambert, with his rapid rise in form.
“I’ve known him since 2008, but we’ve been working together for the last 15 months. He’s shown me how to use the weapons I have now to beat opponents and how to become smarter on the court,” said Li. “We have a very good relationship. I see him as my second father.”
It hasn’t always been smooth sailing for Li, though. After his ranking slipped well outside the Top 800 in 2009, he admitted to almost retiring after the Chinese National Games that year. But with the encouragement of his father, he decided to continue playing.
As his results continued to get better on the court, so did his personal life. He recently got married and is now a father to a three-month-old girl. Li admits that he finds it difficult to be away from his family while on tour, but is quickly learning to find a balance.
“I feel guilty because I only stayed with them for two weeks during the Chinese New Year and sometimes I miss my wife and baby,” said Li. “But I’m thankful that my wife fully supports my career. After the tournament in Shenzhen, I will fly back to Tianjin to be with them.”
Li has become even more motivated in recent years by the strong results that other Chinese players like Di Wu, Ze Zhang and Yan Bai have been producing. Despite being at an age where many of his peers are thinking about slowing down, he said he has no plans to retire for at least the next five years.
“I hope to at least reach the Top 100 before I’m 35 years old,” said Li. “I’m glad to be reaching the peak of my career now. I appreciate this chance and hope to build a brilliant career for myself so that I don’t have any regrets.”