18 months prior to a tennis ball sailing into the crowd from the
racquet of an angry tennis player at the Beijing Games, China's top
women are already facing intense pressure to win Olympic gold.
Li Na and Zheng Jie told Reuters of their increasing nerves as
the weight of expectation bears down on them ahead of the 2008
Olympics.
"I'm nervous about the pressure," Chinese number one Li said in
an interview at last week's Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo. "I want to
do well but it will be very difficult.
"Playing in China with your family and friends watching will be
tough. Everyone is watching you. It's a lot of pressure. Maybe so
much pressure that you can't play your normal game."
Chinese hopes for tennis success in Beijing are all the more
acute after Li Ting and Sun Tiantian’s gold-medal winning
performance in the women's doubles at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
"There's more pressure after what happened in Athens," said Li,
who has climbed to a career-high 17th in the world following a
strong start to 2007. "China will want to win gold medals in every
sport, not just tennis."
Li’s compatriots have also surged up the world rankings in
recent years, with Peng Shuai (42nd) and Sun Tiantian (80th) also
in the top 100.
There is precious little hope of Olympic success for the men,
however, with little-known Yu Xinyuan currently the top-ranked
men's player from mainland China at a lowly 487th in the world.
MISCHIEVOUS SWIPE
Li did lash back at the unreasonable expections being heaped on
the women players by Chinese authorities, who are investing
billions of dollars to ensure the 2008 Olympics are a massive
success.
"My ranking is top 20 now so the (tennis) federation will think
I can get to the semi-finals or the final at the Olympics," smiled
Li. "The federation has invested so much money in coaching and
sponsorship for women's tennis. The Olympics are very important for
them."
Zheng agreed that China's surprise gold in the women's doubles
in Athens had now become a double-edged sword for Chinese
players.
"They will want us to keep it going in Beijing," said the world
number 30. "However, it will be extremely difficult and maybe I'll
be a little bit nervous playing in China.
"It will be very hard to play your best but I think, on balance,
it's better for me to have people coming to support you."
GRAND SLAMS
Li attempted to pair down the pressure of performing in a home
Olympics by reminding her fans that Grand Slam success would remain
her priority, even in 2008.
"For me the grand slams are most important," said the
24-year-old. "I think that's normal if you're a professional. The
Olympics are more important for the federation and the
country."
Li added: "I'm semi-nervous and semi-excited about the Olympics.
But from now I don't care about what they say. I just want to do it
my way."
Zheng, 23, acknowledged, however, that the Beijing Games should
be a great source of pride for the Chinese.
"It's the first time we've had the Olympics in China," she said.
"For me it's very important. The Olympics are important for the
Chinese people. Grand slams are important too for tennis players.
I'm a Chinese tennis player so the Olympics are twice as
important."
(Xinhua News Agency February 7, 2007)