Hold The Back Page: 29/01/2011

It's a big weekend for...

Li Na

She is a "pioneer", according to the head of China's tennis federation, Sun Jinfang, in much the same vein as the hurdler Liu Xiang and the NBA's Yao Ming.

Switch on the gogglebox while you're eating your tea and toast this morning and you'll witness the first Chinese player to figure in a Grand Slam final. She faces Kim Clijsters, who she has beaten twice in their last three encounters, so confidence should be high. It's her big moment (just like Liu's was at the Beijing Olympics, but let's leave that one well alone). And if that's not motivation enough, Sun sent Li a text offering to pay for dinner when she returns to her home country. The glamour of putting Chinese tennis on the map.

And a testing moment to be...

...Adrian Mutu

Seems Sky Sports isn't the only place of late where tainted stars have been saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. This worrying affliction is alive and well in Italy too, where Silvio Berlusconi can't admit that he's done anything wrong re the ladies (he probably has a couple of allies in Richard Keys and Andy Gray). At least Adrian Mutu, the former Chelsea drug-taker and sometime centre-forward, knows how to be contrite after walking out on Fiorentina earlier this month. "I am sorry," the Romanian said. "The fact is I was badly advised by my former agent." Ah, the "it's really someone else's fault" tactic. So he, too, was listening to Keys on talkSport this week.

Tweets you may have missed

At least all this Andy Gray stuff happened to Sky in the January transfer window. @JesalTV

Anyone seen @jongaunt on Twitter today? On the edge of my seat waiting for his insight into the Keys/Gray affair. @uxsoulpatrol

How long until Keys and Gray pop up on Al Jazeera Sport do we think? @WassermanMel

I heard a female Assistant Referee is going to explain the Equality Act to Andy Gray and Richard keys using condiments on the kitchen table. @hofflimits

Straw poll of 16 yr olds at football training last night – all thought Keys and Gray were “well out of order” and should have been sacked. @velocitypr