China's Zheng Making Tennis History
Wednesday, 2nd July 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (2)
Zheng, a Chengdu native, has said she will donate the portion of her winnings that does not go to the CTA (Chinese Tennis Association) to Sichuan earthquake relief efforts. Her prize money will be at least $390,000.
It's not surprising that she is playing this deep into the tournament. The surprise is that she's still alive in the singles draw. Zheng won doubles at Wimbledon and the Australian Open with her partner Yan Zi (晏紫) in 2006, but she's never gotten past the fourth round in a Grand Slam as a singles player.
"The CTA focuses on doubles. Anything that comes with singles is a bonus," Tom McCarthy, president of Beijing International Group (BIG), told China Sports Today. BIG is the sports marketing firm that represents Zheng and the CTA. "Playing singles was supposed to get her in shape for the Olympics," McCarthy said. She's getting in shape, alright, chasing down shots from players half a foot taller than her (Zhang is only 5-foot-4 1/2) and upsetting world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic (6-foot-2 inches tall), Agnes Szavay (seeded 15th) and Nicole Vaidisova (seeded 18th).
Zheng and Yan were knocked out of doubles contention Monday.
Zheng has made some adjustments to her serve, under the tutelage of husband Zhang Yu, who coaches in China's men's program. "She changed it to a style that's more similar to how the men serve," McCarthy says. "That's been one of the major factors in her wins."
With her size disadvantage, Zheng is physiologically unable to get the same power in her serve that six-footers can, but she consistently puts the ball right where she wants it, on the back line. With the grass courts at Wimbledon keeping the ball low, she is able to force her taller opponents to reach down for her groundstrokes and play along the baseline.
Throughout the tournament, Zheng has demonstrated great calm and composure. You won't see her throwing her racket in frustration, and her signature celebration is a restrained pump of her fist. But she has also shown herself to be a fighter, coming back against more athletic players. On Monday, she overcame a 4-1 deficit to win the second set and yesterday, she saved six break points in the first.
"She doesn't give an inch. Her mentality is very level but her heart is very big," McCarthy says. "Whenever she had a little gap there, and it looked like she was in trouble, she found a way to stay in it."
Zheng's surge comes at a time when the CTA is stepping up its promotion of the game on the mainland. It recently secured Mercedes as the sponsor for a yourth development program called "Swing for the Stars," with clinics for players under 13 years old in Beijing, Guangzhou, Inner Mongolia, Sichuan and Nanjing. Through the program, the CTA will select 10 kids to go to a camp at the United States Tennis Academy.
Wimbledon is getting good coverage in China, with games airing live not only via satellite on Star Sports and on cable's CCTV Golf and Tennis Channel, but also on local networks like Beijing's B-TV, Shanghai's SMG Sports and local stations in some provinces. Between the sets in China that will be tuned in to watch Zheng and the audience Serena will attract from all over the globe, there should be a lot of eyes on Zheng's next match. The two faced each other in 2004, with Serena winning in straight sets.
"With Serena, now you're talking apples and oranges with the rest of them," McCarthy says. "The power, speed and versatility of her game will be a real challenge. This is a 100-to-1 shot, not a 10-to-1 shot."
Images:
Wimbledon.org
Chinese Tennis Association
Tags: Chinese Tennis Association, tennis, Wimbledon, Yan Zi, Zheng Jie