RUNNER UP: Li Na tennis ace MENG YONGMIN

So Close

Chinese tennis ace Li Na ends her magical run in the Australian Open as runner-up in Melbourne late January. Although she lost to Belgium's Kim Clijsters in the title match, Li is the first Chinese to advance to a Grand Slam singles final.

Best Banker

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Lamido Sanusi, has been adjudged the world's best global central bank governor for 2010 by The Banker magazine, a publication of the Financial Times Ltd. in January. The magazine noted that Sanusi has performed creditably in the last 18 months in office to salvage the Nigerian economy, since he was appointed to his position in June 2009.