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. Andre Schurrle 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. Manuel Akanji Jersey . Simon (10-3) allowed three runs on five hits and three walks in 6 1-3 innings to break a tie with the Dodgers Zack Greinke and Cardinals Adam Wainwright for the NL lead in victories. Simon went to spring training as a relief pitcher and moved into the starting rotation when Mat Latos was recovering from elbow and knee surgeries. Cheap Dortmund Jersey .28 mph. Logano will start on the front row next to Penske Ford teammate Brad Keselowski, who came in second Friday at 193.099. The Penske drivers swept the top two spots for the second straight race, reversing their qualifying finish in Phoenix a week ago. http://www.footballdortmundpro.com/Kids-Roman-Burki-Jersey/ .J. Mayo made seven three-pointers and scored 25 points, Ersan Ilyasova added 20, and the Milwaukee Bucks placed seven players in double figures in a 130-110 rout of the Philadelphia 76ers, who lost their 11th straight game on Monday night.ANAHEIM - J.A. Happ takes the mound opposite Jered Weaver on Monday night when the Toronto Blue Jays pay a visit to Angel Stadium to begin a three-game series. Happ has been solid since getting roughed up for seven runs in four innings at Cincinnati on June 21. He tossed 7 2/3 shutout frames against the Chicago White Sox while striking out eight in his next start. Most recently, Happ gave up four runs on six hits over seven innings while striking out four and walking nobody against Milwaukee on Wednesday. Weaver, after giving up just one earned run in each of his previous two starts, was tagged for five runs on nine hits over 5 2/3 innings against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday. Once again, the long ball hurt Weaver as he gave up two home runs to run his seasons total to 16 allowed. Prior to his last start, Weaver had gone 17 straight innings without giving up a homer. "I just left a couple pitches up, and those guys put it where they should," Weaver said. L.A. has won 10 straight at home and 15 of its last 16 overall at Angel Stadium. The Halos concluded a four-game home sweep of the Houston Astros following Sundays 6-1 victory. Starter Garrett Richards struck out a career-high 11 while pitching 7 1/3 innings of one-run ball to improve to 10-2 on the season. Koole Calhoun homered and went 3-for-3, while Albert Pujols was 2-for-3 including a two-run single. Dan-Axel Zagadou Jersey. The Blue Jays are trying to avoid a season-worst fifth straight loss, although they will have to do so without All-Star slugger Edwin Encarnacion, who is expected to miss at least two weeks with a strained right quadriceps that he injured during Saturdays 5-1 loss at Oakland. Encarnacion is second in the majors in both home runs (26) and RBI (70). "It hurts us not having him on the team," said outfielder and fellow All-Star Jose Bautista. "The No. 1 priority is to get him better." Toronto, which leads the majors with 114 homers on the season, lost each game of a four-game set at Oakland as the offense went 0-for-20 with runners in scoring position. It was more of the same for the teams suddenly lackluster offense during Sundays 4-2 loss, which dropped the team two games behind Baltimore in the AL East standings. The Blue Jays held a one-game lead atop the division entering the series against the Athletics. "We got shut down big time," manager John Gibbons said. "Were just not very good right now. Were just not producing." The Angels won three of four when these teams met up at Rogers Centre from May 9-12. 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