Li winning world recognition (4)

"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.

Earning international headlines for pulling Li out of her career dip, Rodriguez said the Chinese player's performance in Australia was pleasing, the loss in the final notwithstanding.

"When you (the spectators) go out there, you will be so excited for her," said the softly spoken Argentinian after the final. "The biggest positive is that she can compete against the world's best players and can still make a lot of progress in terms of managing herself on court. Now, we can find solutions for next time to handle that. There are a lot of improvements to make. It's been a wonderful tournament."

Although she sobbed because she was unable to claim the title as a seventh-wedding anniversary (on Sunday) gift for her husband Jiang Shan, Li said she's learned to be positive.

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