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China celebrates a red letter day
Beijing, 22 September 2005 - It was a day that could prove a watershed for Chinese tennis – Sun Tiantian beating seven-time grand slam champion Serena Williams to complete a hat-trick of victories by homegrown players at the China Open on Wednesday.
Sun and Chinese No.1 Peng Shuai both advanced to the quarter-finals while compatriot Zheng Jie eased into the second round.
The victories were guaranteed to put Chinese tennis firmly on the map, according to China Open tournament director Ekkehard Rathgeber.
“It was fantastic for Chinese tennis in general, and the China Open in particular, that all three Chinese players won their matches,” he said.
“Sun Tiantian’s victory over Serena Williams was a great effort and I’m sure the fans who watched it will remember Sun’s performance for a long time. Sun was not expected to win, of course, but that is the beauty of tennis – the underdog can play a great game and sometimes win.
“We have said all along that the China Open will help the development of tennis in this country and Sun’s win will accelerate that,” added Rathgeber, who is also Chief Operating Officer of tournament co-organiser TOM Group Limited, an associate of Hutchison Whampoa.
“Serena has obviously struggled with form and injury this season, but that should not take away from Sun’s achievement.”
Just 24 hours earlier, Williams – the defending China Open champion – had spoken in glowing terms about the potential of Chinese tennis.
“Everyone’s talking about the Russians but, for me, the ones to watch out for are the Chinese – they are definitely a growing force in women’s tennis and I think they have a lot of talent,” she had told reporters in Beijing.
“The Chinese girls are everywhere in the locker room and they’re improving all the time. I really think Chinese tennis has a great future.”
Those words proved accurate as Sun – winner of the Athens Olympics doubles gold medal with Li Ting a year ago – played the game of her life.
The Chinese players were delighted to be the centre of attention at a tournament boasting world-class stars in the shape of Serena, her elder sister Venus and world No.1 Maria Sharapova.
“It’s unbelievable, I never expected to win,” admitted Sun, the world No.127, after her 6-2, 7-6 (9-7) triumph. “I wouldn’t say it’s a miracle, but it’s a breakthrough. Beating such a high-ranked player will give me more confidence in forthcoming matches.
“I played a really good all-round game. My serve and return of serve were both working well and the rest of my game followed from there. I was not afraid of Serena and I think I seized the opportunities. I couldn’t believe it when the umpire announced the match was over.”
Sun, 23, added: ”My target this year is to get into the top 100 and this victory will help me achieve that.”
Florida-based Peng, 19, is already there. Having started the year as the world No.80, she is currently No.33, having reached a peak of 31 last month – the highest position a Chinese player has ever achieved on the WTA Tour.
She has reached two Tour semi-finals this year and has registered victories over elite players such as Kim Clijsters, Elena Dementieva and Anastasia Myskina.
On Wednesday, Peng let go a 4-0 lead in the final set before recovering for a marathon 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-0) victory over Argentine Mariana Diaz-Oliva.
“I played very well up to 4-0 in the third set but I was too eager to win and pushed too hard with my shots, so I made a lot of unforced errors,” said Peng.
“I’m very happy to have fought back to win. It is a good experience for me to win a difficult match like this. I’m especially pleased to have reached the quarter-finals because last year I went out of this tournament in the qualifying rounds.”
Zheng also flew the flag for China , beating sixth seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia-Montenegro 7-5, 4-6, 7-5.
The three wins added up to a day for China to rank alongside Sun and Li’s Olympics success – with Sun’s win undoubtedly the highlight.
Serena Williams admitted Sun deserved to win. “She hit the ball really well,” said the reigning Australian Open champion. “I never expected such a tough match, but she played well, she was ready for it.”
TOM Group’s Rathgeber had some words of comfort for the American. “We should not forget that Serena has been a great China Open champion and we are very grateful to her for returning to Beijing to defend her title,” he said.
“She was not at her best this time, but we very much hope to see her again because she is hugely popular with the Chinese fans. Attracting players of Serena’s profile is very important as it shows the China Open is a world-class tournament.”
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Released on behalf of TOM Group and the China Open by Two Up Front - Asia’s sports PR specialists.