Athens Olympics gold medallists Sun Tiantian and Li Ting
underlined their determination to win a Grand Slam doubles title in
the near future amid nation-wide expectation.
"We have won the Olympics gold medal. But champions of the
Olympics in tennis does not mean you are the top players in the
world. Our next aim is to win a Grand Slam title," said 23-year-old
Sun.
"Only by standing on the top podium of the four Grand Slams,
could it be proved that we have the real power."
Sun also revealed that they are more willing to compete on
hardcourt, but did not dismiss the possibility of victories on clay
and grass courts.
"I do not know exactly at which event we can become the
champions. Chances are always there and you have to grab them," Sun
said. "If you take your chances like in Athens, we'll probably
win."
Sun and Li, now ranked 26th in the world, looked impressive as
they advanced to the fourth round of this year's Australian
Open.
But this was not enough and both are committed to taking a firm
step towards the next Grand Slam.
Playing their first doubles match at the China Open in Beijing
on Wednesday after their surprise victory in Athens in August, the
much-fancied duo demonstrated their new-found belief, overpowering
Jennifer Hopking of the Unites States and Janet Lee of Chinese
Taipei 6-2, 6-2 in convincing style.
"We benefited a lot from the breakthrough of an Olympics tennis
gold medal. But the biggest and the most important is a boost of
confidence," said Li.
Li was echoed by Sun in reply to what the biggest gap is between
Chinese and foreign players.
"The gap actually is not that big, in terms of on-court
showings. Chinese players suffer from a lack of confidence," said
Sun, who believes a never-say-die spirit can lead to the downing of
big names.
But they know confidence is not the only thing they can count
on.
"After the Olympics, we had to attend a number of celebration
activities. But we never stopped training and we were attempting to
spend at least one hour on stamina training even if we were in Hong
Kong and Macao," she said.
Doubts and complaints have been increasing recently on the many
business-related celebration activities that gold medallists went
to which interrupted the normal training of sports elite.
Showered with praise the two Olympic sensations know there is
still much work to be done.
"Although our training has not been systematic recently, we
still seized any chances to polish our skills and teamwork. We
prepared a lot before this event and found the feeling of the
doubles competition," Sun said.
In a bid to get back on track as soon as possible and to further
improve their ability, Sun also chose to play in the mixed doubles
at the China Open, pairing with Graydon Oliver of the US.
"When the organizing committee asked me if I would like to play
in the mixed doubles, I said OK. Male players serve faster and are
more powerful and it can help enhance my own strength," said
Sun.
Speaking of the male partners, Sun and Li said they owe their
success partly to the good conditions on national team.
"The male players in the national team dedicated a lot to our
daily training. We had many chances to compete with them and we are
really appreciating that," Sun said.
As the tournament's second seeds, the pair, together with fourth
seeds and 2004 Australian quarter-finalists Zheng Jie and Yan Zi,
will vie for the title, with major rivals such as top seeds Nicole
Pratt of Australia who is paired with Tamarine Tanasugarn of
Thailand and Emmanuelle Gagliardi of Italy and Dinara Safina of
Russia.
(China Daily September 24, 2004)