And then touchingly offered tribute to him: "Fat or skinny, handsome or ugly, I will follow you forever." Jiang Shan (or "Dennis") was replaced by Rodriguez in a subtle fashion. Li said earlier this week in Cincy that she called her agent after Wimbledon and asked for a coaching change. Her agent affirmatively responded with Rodriguez, and player and coach emailed and texted after her ensuing matches before he joined her on Thursday in Mason, Ohio, at this Western & Southern Open.
About calling her coach to the court after she rolled to a 6-1, 3-0 lead against Agnieszka Radwanska on Friday night, Li added, "I think he's sitting too long. I need him to move a little bit." Li was also asked by a media member afterward whether she would try to convert her "skinny" new coach to the Chinese diet. She balked at that, saying that she'd just seen him on TV to date. This is all amusing in light of the fact that this writer and another journalist covering the Cincy event, after 10:30 p.m. on Thursday night, saw Li Na's husband getting takeaway food at Mason, Ohio's Waffle House restaurant. (What Chinese diet?)
In any event, the coaching change has apparently done Li good, as she capably marched to the Montreal final last week and pushed Petra Kvitova there. She's now in a Cincy semi against Venus Williams. Footage of Li's Friday press meeting here:
