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)