"It's a miracle," she said after upsetting
28-year-old top seed Li 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to reach the semifinals.
"I'm surprised they are not as fit as me. I don't like
to limit myself so I always push myself very hard.
"Sometimes my husband says that I should give up
otherwise I'll get a big injury. But I don't want to lose. I hate to lose. I
don't like to retire, even if I get an injury."
Date-Krumm has been astounding observers since she returned
to the sport after a 12-year retirement.
In September she overcame former world No.1 Maria Sharapova
in Tokyo and last month she became the oldest known singles finalist when she
contested the showpiece match at the Japan Open.
But it is her stamina that has really caught people's
attention. In Osaka she played three matches in three days that lasted close to
three hours. The petite Japanese player believes her fitness can be traced back
to her childhood.
"When I was young I ate healthy food, not so much junk
food," said Date-Krumm, who will next meet former number one Ana Ivanovic.
"I didn't drink, for example, Coca Cola, no Sprite. My
mother said it was too much sugar. At that time water wasn't popular in
Japan...so I drank only tea and I didn't eat so many fat things.
"Although everybody is doing many exercises and every
day going to the gym more than me, I think Asians have a lucky body. The DNA is
different, and especially my body is different, I think.
"Also I prepared for the London marathon. I ran it in
2004 in three hours, 27 minutes and 47 seconds! So now I have a lot of
stamina."
Ivanovic continued to show signs of a resurgence by sweeping
to a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Russian third seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in just
56 minutes.
"It was an almost perfect performance," she said.
"I really felt good out there. I thought I really served well and played
aggressive and was moving well, so there wasn't much wrong today.
"I feel the things I've been working on, I can see them
working now in the matches and that makes a big difference when you have
pressure and important points."
