Peng ready for prime time

Never has a Chinese tennis player been the subject of so much criticism, sparked so many career concerns, or been so crucial to the future of the country's Olympic success. Is Peng Shuai ready for the Games?

The answer is: Yes.

With the Olympic tournament clearly the most important tennis event for this sports-crazed nation, a self-assured Li Na is penciled in as the top choice to win China its first singles' medal. Zheng Jie and Yan Zi are hoping to repeat China's dream doubles showing in Athens, where Sun Tiantian and Li Ting won gold.

Li Na, Zheng and Yan have proven themselves at the WTA level, but Peng - blessed with great talent but the "worst-ever" mentality - is the team's lone X-factor.

Peng knows she has a lot to prove at the Beijing Olympics.

"I just want to plunge into the Olympic battle for my country, that's all I want to do right now," she said. "It is my career tournament and it is my dream to represent my motherland at the highest stage and win glory and applause for it."

Dubbed "China's Monica Seles", the 22-year-old from Hunan, now ranked world No 51, was once widely considered China's most gifted player with her powerful double-handed strokes.

But her unusual training background and unruly personality limited her in international performances, as Li and Zheng climbed up the rankings and collected Grand Slam titles.

Peng differs from other Chinese athletes, most of whom are funded by their local sports authorities. Tianjin Sports Bureau, located some 1,000km from her hometown of Changsha, Hunan province, discovered Peng when she was 13 and snatched her up before her home province could recruit her. Thanks to Tianjin's sponsorship, she was able to join pro tennis much earlier than the most of her compatriots and has been collecting points and prize money ever since.

As the youngest player on the national team, Peng used to be China's No 1 singles player before Li emerged. Her best run came in early 2006 when she defeated several top-10 players to become the highest-ranked Chinese at 33.

But a left ankle injury slowed Peng down as she tumbled out of top 50 and failed to live up to people's expectations for the rest of the season.

After publicly challenging the country's sports authority during the China Tennis Grand Prix in Guangzhou in 2006 and refusing to join the national team, her future appeared uncertain. She was disqualified from the tournament for coming late, but claimed she was set up.

Fans started to criticize her professional attitude, a charge she fiercely contested.

"I just want to play tennis, that's simple," she said at the time. "I have never tried to challenge the authority of the Chinese Tennis Association. I don't want to make trouble. I tried very hard to concentrate on the court. If I hurt anybody, I have to say I didn't mean it."

Having hit rock bottom in her career, the Hunan star teamed up with Chinese-American legend Michael Chang and bounced back.

Peng beat Martina Hingis and Amelie Maresmo back-to-back at the China Open in Beijing last year, savoring her comeback.

"Maybe you think I am very lucky because I can play big tournaments and earn prize money, but I can tell you being a professional player is a very, very tough job," she said afterwards.

"I even considered retirement I had injuries and couldn't find my form, and tons of people blamed me. It was my mom and my fans who supported me and gave me the belief to continue my career."

Despite losing to Russian teenager Alisa Kleybanova 5-7, 6-4, 7-9 in the first round of the Australian Open, Peng was more confident about herself.

"I really trust myself, this is a big step for me," she said. "I had a lot of confidence coming into the new season. It has already passed that I lost at the Australian Open, but I will turn up again in the future competitions."

Peng's renewed confidence has been boosted by her partnership with Athens gold medalist Sun Tiantian at the Beijing Olympics.

The pair was quickly given the nickname "Tian-Shuai" by Chinese media, meaning "sweet and graceful". The pair has been fairly successful so far, making it into the third round at Melbourne this month and winning some matches against top pairs last year.

"It's quite comfortable playing with Peng," doubles veteran Sun said. "I think we've got great rhythm because our games are similar. Peng is a very powerful player and things are much easier when she is around."

Chinese officials appreciate Peng's talent and cleverness and seem to have forgotten the unpleasant memories.

"She is a great player anyway," said Sun Jinfang, director of the Administrative Center of Tennis. "Peng is the backbone of our national team, that's for sure. She is strong, talented and very motivated. She's got everything you can ask for in an athlete.

"I don't call her a troublemaker. It is quite usual that your child sometimes has different ideas than you. You cannot get rid of her just because you had a quarrel last night."

Sun added that Peng gets an unfair reputation.

"I know how media and fans think of her. If you ever watched her training and competition live, you'd know she is not the girl you read about in the newspaper," she said.

"Her performance will be crucial for us to achieve our Olympic goals. I am expecting a lot from her and I know she won't let me down."

(China Daily 01/31/2008 page23)