MELBOURNE, Australia - With Li Na in retirement and not defending her title at the Australian Open, there are far fewer Chinese flags and fans with red-and-yellow-streaked faces in the stands at Melbourne Park. White Sox Bill Melton Jersey .So much so that when Peng Shuai, now Chinas top-ranked tennis player, was beating Magdalena Rybarikova in a second-round match, there was just one fan shouting encouragement in Mandarin with a solitary Chinese flag.Contrast that scene with a stadium in the Australian capital on Sunday where thousands of red-shirt wearing Chinese supporters cheered on Chinas soccer team as it defeated North Korea in a group match at the Asian Cup.With Li transitioning from tennis star to soon-to-be-mother, her departure from the sport raises an interesting question in China: Can tennis keep its nascent fan base and continue to grow in the country without its global superstar?Its literally the billion-dollar question. Ultimately, no one knows, said Richard Heaselgrave, the commercial director for Tennis Australia, which has a considerable stake in the answer as host of the Australian Open, the self-described Grand Slam of Asia-Pacific.Theres no doubting that tennis popularity has grown immensely in China due to Lis success. According to the WTA, a Chinese television audience of 116 million watched Li become the first Asian player to win a major at the French Open in 2011.Adding the Australian Open title last year cemented her status as one of Chinas top celebrities — she now has more than 23 million followers on Sina weibo, Chinas Twitter equivalent, more than almost all other athletes.Sensing a golden opportunity, the WTA jumped on Lis success to expand aggressively in Asia, with a record seven tournaments in China this year, second only to the U.S.Now that Chinas biggest star is no longer playing, though, some believe this rapid growth may have been premature.Zhang Bendou, the tennis writer for Titan Sports, the largest sports newspaper in China, said the crowds were visibly thinner at the Shenzhen Open tournament earlier this month without Li there to defend her title from the year before.Its embarrassing to see the pictures, he said. If the tournaments cannot attract enough sponsors and spectators and media interest, (China) will lose them eventually. I think they are in danger, some of them.Part of the problem is that because tennis is relatively new to the country, Chinese fans typically only pay attention to the big-name stars and local players, Zhang said.This partly explains why the mens tennis tour has been more cautious to expand in China — there are no bankable Chinese mens players yet. Only one made the main draw at the Australian Open — Zhang Ze, who lost in the first round to 33-year-old Australian veteran Lleyton Hewitt.Heaselgrave is optimistic the Australian Open will retain its Chinese fan base. To help ensure this, Tennis Australia has signed LI to a three-year contract to act as the tournaments unofficial ambassador in China and recently signed a new contract with China Central Television to produce bespoke TV and digital content from the tournament for Chinese consumers.Theres talk of opening Tennis Australia training centres for casual and club-level players in Shanghai and Beijing, as well.Were absolutely nowhere near being the Grand Slam of Asia-Pacific that we want to be, but weve made a big start, Heaselgrave said.The Chinese Tennis Association, meanwhile, is busy trying to find the next homegrown star.There are now 11 female players ranked in the top 200, led by Peng Shuai, the recent U.S. Open semifinalist, at No. 22. But the one Chinese Fed Cup captain Peng Wang is most excited about is 17-year-old Xu Shilin, the No. 2 girl in the junior rankings, who goes by the English name Coco. The top seed in the girls draw at the Australian Open, she has the potential to be the next Li Na, Peng said.Everyone I think in China has confidence now, the coaches, the players, he said. So they work hard, more than before. White Sox Aaron Bummer Jersey . Pospisil, whose season-ending goal is to improve his ATP Tour ranking enough to qualify for one of the 32 seedings at Januarys Australian Open, dominated Karlovic in 59 minutes. The world No. 40 never faced a break point and limited the big mans threatening ace count to a mere eight, while striking five key aces of his own. White Sox Reynaldo Lopez Jersey . She was 30. The former British No. 1 died peacefully surrounded by family and friends, the Womens Tennis Association said on its website. The Kyiv-born Baltacha, who represented Britain at the 2012 London Olympics, was diagnosed with the illness in January, two months after retiring from tennis and only weeks after she married her long-time coach Nino Severino. http://www.cheapwhitesoxjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=white-sox-paul-konerko-jersey . Hoffman, the former star closer, will evaluate and help co-ordinate all pitchers at Double-A, Triple-A and the big league team. Byrnes says Hoffman "will be a key part of finishing the development of our younger pitchers.Formula One points leader Nico Rosberg won the pole position for the German Grand Prix, while his Mercedes teammate and championship rival, Lewis Hamilton, wrecked during the first round in Saturdays qualifying. Rosberg, a German, will start on the pole for his home grand prix on Sunday after making a lap around the 2.842-mile (4.574-kilometer), 17-turn Hockenheimring circuit in 1 minute, 16.540 seconds. He claimed his fifth pole of the season and the ninth of his F1 career. Two weeks ago, Rosberg started on the pole for the British Grand Prix but suffered his first retirement of the season due to a faulty gearbox. Since then, the 29-year-old Rosberg got married to his long-time girlfriend Vivian Sibold and signed a new multi-year contract extension with Mercedes. Germany won the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final as well. "For now, its been going really, really well," Rosberg said. "Its great. To be on pole for home race is fantastic. Of course, I would have preferred if it was an open fight with Lewis, so Im a little less happy with the result because Lewis didnt have a shot at it there at the end. "All in all, it was a fantastic day up to now, but there are no points today. There is a long way to go tomorrow, but its a good start." Rosberg has finished no better than fourth in seven German GP starts. He placed ninth in this race last year. Hamilton, who won his home grand prix in Great Britain and moved to within four points of Rosberg, wrecked during the mid-stages of Q1. He lost control and spun out before slamming hard into the barrier due to brake disc ffailure on his right-front. White Sox Carson Fulmer Jersey. Hamilton was not injured but complained of soreness after making impact at a high rate of speed. He was taken to the tracks medical care center for observation and soon released. Hamilton finished 16th in qualifying but moved up one spot on the grid following a penalty for Saubers Esteban Gutierrez (assessed for causing a collision during the British GP). "Im a little bit bruised, but I will be fine," Hamilton said. "The car was feeling great, but then the brake failed. I guess the brake exploded. I lost brake pressure, and it sent me off into the wall. Its not a great feeling when that happens." Valtteri Bottas from Williams qualified second, while his teammate, Felipe Massa, placed third. "Im really happy with the result we got as a team today, second and third," Bottas said. "Well done to everyone. The lap I did in the end had no mistakes and was a really nice lap, so I felt like I got everything out of the car today." McLarens Kevin Magnussen took the fourth spot. Daniel Ricciardo from Red Bull was fifth, followed by his teammate, Sebastian Vettel, the four-time and defending F1 world champion as well as the winner of last years German GP, which was held at the Nurburgring circuit. Fernando Alonso from Ferrari qualified seventh, and Daniil Kvyat put his Toro Rosso eighth on the grid. Force India teammates Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez completed the top-10. Among those failing to advance into Q3 were McLarens Jenson Button (qualified 11th) and Ferraris Kimi Raikkonen (12th). 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