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Men's time to shine

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-10-17 10:02

China's Bai Yan in action during the Mercedes-Benz China Tennis Grand Prix in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. Bai, the world No 465, made a some history of his own by defeating Czech Radek Stepanek, a former world top 10 player, at the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Tuesday. [Provided to China Daily]

China's male tennis players are eager to follow in the footsteps of their female compatriots, China Daily reports in Shanghai

After years of toiling in obscurity, China's male tennis players may finally be grabbing a toehold on the ATP circuit.

That is if the performances at the Shanghai Rolex Masters are anything to go by.

Wild card Bai Yan, the 21-year-old world No 465, dismissed Czech veteran Radek Stepanek, a former world top-10 player, 6-3, 6-4, in his ATP main draw debut on Tuesday. His effort followed Zeng Shaoxuan's upset of Israeli Dudi Sela, the 2008 China Open runner-up, last year.

A few hours after Bai's unexpected victory, another Chinese youngster, Zhang Ze, the world No 308, almost caused another major upset when he pushed former world No 3 Ivan Ljubicic to three sets before losing 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.

Even to diehards of Chinese tennis, the names of the country's top male tennis players are unfamiliar. A bunch of 20-something young aces including Zhang Ze, Gong Maoxin, Wu Di and Bai still have a long way to go due to a lack of experience in high-level tournaments.

"I think the male players in China are still at the beginner's stage. None of us have experienced many high-level matches in big tournaments," Bai said after returning to reality when Andy Murray, the world No 4, defeated him 6-2, 6-2 in a quick second-round match.

Wu soon followed his compatriot as he was knocked out by Taiwan's Lu Yen-hsun on Wednesday, ending the Chinese men's journey at the tournament.

"He may need more time to accumulate more experience," said Lu, who upset Andy Roddick to book a quarterfinal spot at Wimbledon this year.

"I hope that they can get more exposure and opportunities to participate in important matches," he said.

Keen to play at high-level tournaments, but hamstrung by their rankings, China's aces are trapped in a dilemma.

However Chinese tennis chief Sun Jinfang believes that hurdle can be overcome by steady performances in lower-level events, which can boost their rankings.

"As opposed to struggling at big events, they would be better off focusing on tournaments where they can add to their points one by one," Sun said.

"It's a misunderstanding that the Chinese Tennis Association is more dedicated to the women. Actually, we are trying to hold more games for them (the men) to provide a proper stage for them to reach the world's top level," she said.

The governing body's efforts have already paid some dividends as Wu reached the quarterfinals and national teammate Gong the last-four at China's inaugural ATP Challengers event in Beijing in August.

"There are more than 10 ATP Challengers on our players' schedule this year, it (the ATP Challengers) is a valuable opportunity to feel the pressure in close matches against opponents within the top 200-300 and to gain more points than from the ITF Futures," Lu Ling, the men's national team's head coach, said in Nanjing, Jiangsu province on Thursday during the 2010 Mercedes-Benz China Tennis Grand Prix, which saw most of China's top players battle for $150,000 in prize money.

Lu also said the men could take a leaf out of the development of the Chinese women; such as seeking a breakthrough in doubles - which came about when the local pair of Gong and Li Zhe stunned the tournament's third seeds, Lukasz Kubot and Oliver Marach, to reach the men's doubles quarterfinals at the China Open last week.

The world's top players are also watching the progress of the Chinese men.

"I was surprised to see so many players in the main draw from China. It's good. Finally the country is getting some success in men's tennis. You deserve that because the country is dedicated to the sport and invests a lot in the tennis players," said world No 2 Novak Djokovic, who practised with several Chinese teenagers during the China Open and was impressed by their skills.

"Obviously, it's much harder for the men to catch up to the rest of the world than the women. But a bunch of young guys around the top 400 shows great potential," said Tomas Hogstedt, coach of Li Na, a Grand Slam semifinalist.

"What they need is patience and confidence."

China Daily