China's women's tennis stars are making their final preparations
for the French Open, and the players know the pressure has never
been so intense.
As well as living up to growing national expectations, the
Rolland Garros tournament is the first one for which Olympic
Ranking Points will be awarded.
"The Olympics is our top priority this year, we're doing
everything for it," head coach Jiang Hongwei told Sohu.com.
"We want to collect as many Olympic points as we can, so the
French Open is crucially important for us. I am not thinking about
breaking records, I just want my players go as far as possible at
the tournament because all the matches are important to our Olympic
task."
Last year was a career year for many of the players as they
climbed up the rankings and won Grand Slam titles. But this year
has been a let-down, with injuries and a general loss of form
striking the camp.
Peng Shuai, the 30th seed at the French Open, is set to pull out
of the tournament after spraining her left ankle during a match
against Jelena Jankovic in Berlin last week.
The 21-year-old from Hunan has bounced back after a
disappointing 2006 following the appointment of Michael Chang as
her new coach, so the new injury setback will be a major blow.
It will also affect her new doubles partner Sun Tiantian, one
half of the gold medal-winning pair at the Athens Olympics.
"After a couple of back injuries and now an ankle injury, Peng
is having a lot of trouble," said Tang Jiaying, an official of
Peng's Tianjin Tennis Team.
Peng and Sun stole the limelight by reaching the final in
Charleston before losing to compatriots Zheng Jie and Yan Zi in the
WTA's first All-Chinese doubles final at a Tier I event.
Paired for the just the second time at a major tournament, the
duo proved to be an instant hit, ousting world No 1s Samantha
Stosur and Lisa Raymond in the second round and then rallying to
beat much-fancied Flavia Pennatta and Gisela Dulko.
They were quickly given the nickname "Tian-Shuai" by Chinese
media, meaning "sweet and graceful".
Peng is now in the United States for further treatment and
doctors say she needs to rest at least one month, meaning her
Wimbledon trip is in doubt.
Lean times for Li Na
World No 18 Li Na, who soared to a personal best ranking of 16
in January, has found it hard to move further up due to abdominal
problems.
Widely considered the most talented player in China, the
25-year-old has struggled to live up to high expectations or adapt
her game to slow surfaces like that in Paris. She was knocked out
in the third round last year and has yet to win a title on
clay.
Last year her rivals took to the court with her with
trepidation, but her aura has diminished as she has yet to progress
beyond the fourth round.
After suffering an early exit in Berlin and quitting the Italian
Open due to abdominal problems over the past fortnight, she hopes
this week's low-key tournament in Strasbourg will give her a chance
to get some much-needed playing time.
"I should play some more matches on the clay and change my
tactics a little bit," said Li, who reached the quarterfinals at
Wimbledon last year. "I like playing on fast surfaces but as long
as the tournament gives me Olympic points, I will be 100 percent
focused on it."
"She needs to be tougher, I know she has improved a lot mentally
but there is a lot space ahead of her," said Jiang Hongwei.
Doubles pair in trouble
Li's teammates Zheng Jie and Yan Zi, the winners of the
Australian Open and Wimbledon doubles last year, have had similar
problems after a stellar 2006 season, winning only the Family
Circle Cup in Charleston. They lost to Taipei rivals Chan Yung-jan
and Chuang Chia-jung three consecutive times and slipped to No 6
and 7 from 3 and 4 in the Doubles Rankings.
Also, Zheng quit the Italian Open due to right ankle problems
and lost in the first round of the German Open.
"It's a tough year for us," said Zheng. "We were dark horses
last season but now everybody is staring at us and know exactly how
we play. I know we have to go through this and have something new
in our play."
China ratcheted up the pressure on its female players last month
to ensure they are at the top of their game come summer 2008 with
the introduction of the Olympic Points System.
First-round exits will not be considered acceptable and as of
June this year players who are eliminated early may have to forfeit
their prize money.
(China Daily May 24, 2007)