Client News
Venus hungry for first taste of the East
Beijing, 17 September 2005 - First-time visitor Venus Williams is keen for a taste of the East – starting with Peking duck, which she hopes to try sometime during her week as third seed at the China Open.
The three-time Wimbledon champion, who lifted her most recent title at the All England club in July, joins her sister Serena, seeded fourth, top seed and world number one Maria Sharapova and second seed and world number two Lindsay Davenport at the Beijing Tennis Centre.
Venus, who will benefit along with her draw-card rivals from a first-round bye, says she’s ready to chow down on the local specialty as soon as possible.
"Serena told me last year how excited she was being in Beijing,” Venus said. "I want to eat Peking duck, I’ve never tried it before. But I’m really, really ready. And I also want to see the Great Wall.
"This is all very exciting. The China Open is an event I would love to win,” she added.
Meanwhile, Serena is struggling and with a title to defend in the capital, could only meet her sibling in the final.
Top seed Sharapova commands solid support in China, after playing the semi-final here against Svetlana Kuznetsova at last year’s inaugural edition.
American veteran Davenport will arrive from Bali where she appears in Sunday’s final at the Wismilak International.
Seeded fifth in Beijing is Australian Alicia Molik, who has been drawn to start against Argentine Maria Diaz-Oliva for the second week in a row.
World number 14 Molik has suffered for six months with an inner ear infection which kept her off court all but sporadically from April until last week, when she won a round in Bali over Diaz-Olivia, ranked 61st.
Chinese women are well represented at the China Open, with four in the field.
Standout world number 33 Peng Shuai leads the home effort, with an upset win over US Open winner Kim Clijsters to her credit from last month in California.
Peng begins in the first round against a qualifier. Other Chinese in the field are Li Na, Olympic doubles champion Sun Tiantian and fellow wild card Zheng Jie.
“We’re looking forward to what should be a fantastic spectacle,” said tournament director Ekkehard Rathgeber, who is also Chief Operating Officer of tournament co-organiser TOM Group Limited, an associate of Hutchison Whampoa Limited. “Chinese tennis fans will have the chance to watch the four biggest names in women’s tennis over the coming week.
“This is comfortably the best line-up there has ever been for a tournament in Asia and it is proof that the China Open is already one of the most high-profile events on the international tennis calendar,” he added.
-- ENDS --
Released on behalf of TOM Group and the China Open by Two Up Front - Asia’s sports PR specialists.