Zheng loses in Wimbledon semis
Friday, 4th July 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
When Zheng had the serve, she managed to keep Serena playing along the baseline for much of the time. But Serena punched through 14 aces, compared to none for Zheng.
As Zheng Jie leaves competition until August, here's a look at some of the better pieces that have been done on her over the past few days:
From Wimbledon.org, on why Zheng's success is not as much of a surprise as you might think: Zheng and the art of ankle maintenance
From the New York Times, on how Zheng's success makes a case against China's system of selecting athletes based on physiological formulas: Chinese Tennis No Longer Overlooks Zheng
From the LA Times: Zheng is fun to watch, but why?
Image: Wimbledon.org
Tags: tennis, Wimbledon, Zheng Jie
China's Zheng Making Tennis History
Wednesday, 2nd July 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
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
First and First: Zheng's Wimbledon Run Continues
Wednesday, 2nd July 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
First wild card to reach the singles semifinals at Wimbledon; first Chinese player to reach the singles semis at Wimbledon. Zheng Jie's latest win gave her both of those titles. She beat Hungary's Nicole Vaidisova 6-2, 5-7, 6-1, moving on to a showdown with Serena Williams in the semis.When Zheng won her third-round match against Ana Ivanovic, media coverage was more about Ivanovic's surprising loss than Zheng's win. Case in point, this story: Still growing into No. 1 status.
It was as if the 24-year-old from Sichuan had luckily happened on a vulnerable and overconfident new champ in Ivanovic. That may be true, but by winning her next two matches, Zheng has firmly declared that she is not just a footnote in Ivanovic's rise to the top of the tennis world. Her story now has weight in its own right—and it is one of only four that will continue to play out in England this week.
Tags: tennis, Wimbledon, Zheng Jie
Zheng in Wimbledon Quarterfinals
Monday, 30th June 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Zheng was the less powerful player in the match, giving up six miles per hour on her serve and notching only two aces to Szavay's five. But she was patient, precise and unflappable, coming back from a 4-1 deficit to win the second set. On the last point of the match, she volleyed her opponent deep into her forehand corner before laying a hard shot to Szavay's backhand side.
Zheng's next opponent will be determined in a match between Anna Chakvetadze and Nicole Vaidisova. The only other remaining Chinese player, Peng Shuai, was eliminated yesterday.
Related:Zheng Bounces French Open Champ from Wimbledon
Link: Eastern promise (from Wimbledon.org)
Image: Wimbledon.org
Tags: tennis, Wimbledon, Zheng Jie
Zheng Bounces French Open Champ from Wimbledon
Saturday, 28th June 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (1)
Zheng is from Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, and turns 25 next week. She won the Australian Open and Wimbledon doubles titles with Yan Zi (晏紫) in 2006. She has three WTA singles titles, winning at Hobart in 2005 and Estoril and Stockholm in 2006. The Serbian Ivanovic won the French Open earlier this month. She had a hard time in Wimbledon's second round, taking 3 1/2 hours to beat Natalie Dechy of France.
Zheng will face Hungary's Agnes Szavay, seeded 15th, in her next match. She is also playing in the ladies' doubles tournament with Yan. The pair are seeded ninth and won their first match against Arantxa Parra Santonia and Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain.
China has two other ladies' singles players in the tournament. Peng Shuai (彭帅) faces Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia in her third-round match. Yuan Meng (袁梦) lost in the first round to Dechy, Li Na lost in the second round to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia and Yan Zi lost in the first round to Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain. No Chinese men are playing at Wimbledon.
Image: Wimbledon.com
Tags: Meng Yuan, Tennis, Wimbledon, Yan Zi, Zheng Jie
US Open and Wimbledon Broadcasts
Wednesday, 25th June 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
Tiger Woods won the US Open last week in what's sure to rank as one of the most dramatic moments in sports this year. Playing on an injured knee and a broken tibia, Woods beat Rocco Mediate in a tournament that had to go 91 holes. After Woods forced a playoff round with 18th-hole heroics on Father's Day, he and Mediate had to go another 19 the next day to determine a winner. The day after his big win, Woods revealed the extent of his injuries and announced that he would take the year off for surgery and rehabilitation.If you thought you had to miss this instant classis because you're in China, you're only partly right. If you've got cable and a flexible work schedule, you can see the last round tomorrow. The US Open has been airing for at least the past two days on CCTV's Golf and Tennis Channel (CCTV 高尔夫网球), available if you have cable (in Beijing, it is Channel 170). Rounds 3 and 4 aired Tuesday and Wednsday starting at noon. We couldn't find a broadcast schedule online, but it seems likely that the playoff round will air at noon tomorrow.
CCTV Golf and Tennis Channel also aired live French Open tennis matches, and has been doing the same with Wimbledon.
Tags: CCTV, golf, tennis, Tiger Woods, US Open, Wimbledon