China's best have much to learn

The highly-anticipated rise of Chinese men's tennis has seen some recent breakthroughs, but enormous challenges remain for homegrown aces hoping to catch up with the world's best.

For years, a chronic lack of consistency has denied Chinese men a perch in the sport's upper echelon, evidenced by Pan Bing's drop from then national-best world No 176 in 1995 and regular first-round losses at the Grand Slams by the country's current best doubles combo, Zhang Ze and Wu Di.

But the recent surge, highlighted by teenager Wu Yibing's US Open boys' title and Zhang Zhizhen's quarterfinal run at the Shenzhen ATP 250 tournament has rekindled optimism.