Chinese tennis head coach Jiang Hongwei believes Zheng Jie will be able to shock Serena Williams in the Wimbledon semifinal, which takes place tonight on Center Court.
Zheng, 24, beat Czech 18th seed Nicole Vaidisova 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 on Tuesday to become the first Chinese player to reach the last four of a Grand Slam.
"As long as Zheng plays at her level, anything is possible," Jiang told Sina.com yesterday. "It's already a huge achievement, beating five formidable rivals as a No 133 wild-card player, including some elite players. So she has proven that she is not afraid of big names.
"Serena is in very good shape this time, for sure, but I will tell Zheng to just go ahead and play. I hope she can give Serena a shock, whether she wins or not."
It is not the first time Zheng has tasted success at Wimbledon, but her doubles title triumph with Yan Zi in 2006 received less attention than it deserved back home because China was gripped by the soccer World Cup.
"The key to Zheng's success this time is that she plays without pressure," Jiang said. "Chinese women must shoulder the expectations of an entire nation so they have been under tremendous pressure ahead of the Games. But coming into Wimbledon I told her that to win or lose does not matter, just enjoy the match."
Zheng was sidelined for six months last year with an ankle injury, but her dazzling performance has given a boost to the Chinese team, which is hoping for medals in both singles and doubles events at the Olympics.
"She has overcome a number of challenges after the injury, and what delights us most is that she has improved her skills, her serves in particular," Jiang said.
Zheng's sparkling journey has been hailed by local media: "Miracle replayed!" trumpeted Xinhua.com.
"Of course we're surprised by Zheng Jie's win," said Xie Miqing, spokeswoman of the Chinese Tennis Association. "The whole nation feels proud and inspired by her performance."
The memory of the May 12 Sichuan earthquake still resonates in China and the Beijing News emphasized Zheng's origins in its headline: "Sichuan girl rewrites history".
Her home city's top paper, the Chengdu Business Daily, read "Chengdu power break out".
Source: China Daily
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