By Barnaby Chesterman
ESTORIL, Portugal, April 27 - Li Na and Zheng Jie
served further notice of China's emergence in women's
professional tennis by reaching the quarter-finals of the
Estoril Open on Wednesday.
Li struggled initially against Australia's Nicole Pratt
before overpowering her 7-5 6-1 while Zheng breezed past German
Martina Muller 6-3 6-4.
China has six players competing on the WTA tour and coach
Jiang Hong We hopes they can produce a player capable of winning
a medal on home soil when the Olympics arrive in Beijing in
2008.
"We are trying to approach tennis in a professional way,
especially in women's tennis which is easier to be successful
in, because we are preparing for the Olympic Games in Beijing in
2008," said Jiang.
Zheng and Li have claimed the only WTA titles won by Chinese
women. Zheng beat Gisela Dulko to win the Hobart International
in January, following on from Li's success in Guangzhou last
year.
Both players said they are struggling to adapt to claycourt
tennis.
"I still don't have the feel of the courts," said Zheng.
"Footwork is the most difficult thing," added Li. "It is
hard to balance and difficult to slide into shots."