One step on a long road

Being the best in China means little when you're trying to become one of the best in the world.

China's top men's tennis players, Zhang Ze and Wu Di, have enjoyed successful seasons. Both increased their world rankings dramatically with the help of foreign coaches.

Now, they have set their sights on cracking the main draw in Grand Slam events.

"For me, I feel like a Grand Slam is getting much closer," Zhang said after thrashing Wu, 6-4, 6-1, in the first round of the China Open on Monday.

"My coach has great confidence in me. I think I still need some mental drills. I think I might have to linger around in the qualifiers for a while. I also realize I could speed up a little bit, making my strides bigger."

The 22-year-old became the first man from the Chinese mainland in 17 years to win a Grand Slam qualifying match after he made it to the second round of the French Open and Wimbledon qualifiers.

Building on that momentum, Zhang improved from No 292 at the beginning of the year to his current No 165, topping Pan Bing's 17-year Chinese record of No 176.

Zhang credits French coach Guillaume Peyre - 2006 Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis' former mentor - for the improvement.

"I've strengthened my backhand attack a lot since he took over and I'm still aiming to make my forehand sharper. I am looking forward to making the top 100 next season," the Nanjing native said.

Zhang faces France's Richard Gasquet in the next round.

Wu, the current world No 176, hopes he can follow Zhang's success with some of his own.

"Honestly, we are on the same level. But he competed in three Grand Slams this year and gathered more big-match experiences than me. Hopefully, I can join him on that stage next year," he said.

Wu, a quarterfinalist at the Australian Open's junior event in 2007, bagged two straight wins in China's Davis Cup battle against Chinese Taipei in April and reached the final of the ATP Challengers event in Beijing to earn the China Open wild card.

Wu consistently reached the later rounds on the ATP Futures tournaments this year and improved from No 421 to his current No 176.

He shrugged off the notion that there's a rivalry with Zhang.

"There was no extra pressure for me playing against him - our target shouldn't be just the No 1 spot in China. We should fight for breakthroughs internationally," said Wu, who will spend his winter training in France to play local club matches.

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn