BEIJING - Zheng Jie's sensational run to the semi-finals at Wimbledon has given her the confidence to focus on her singles game, but only after her bid to defend China's Olympic doubles crown in Beijing next month.
Zheng Jie of China returns the ball to Serena Williams of the U.S. during their semi-finals match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London July 3, 2008. Rain halted the match for 37 minutes in the first set. Serena beat the Chinese wildcard who had dispatched several top-ranked seeds to reach the semi-finals 6-2, 7-6(5) to meet her sister Venus Williams in the final game. [Agencies] |
Zheng won the Wimbledon and Australian Open doubles titles in 2006 with long-time partner Yan Zi and the pair are aiming to repeat the feat of Athens gold medallists Sun Tiantian and Li Ting in Beijing.
"After the Olympics I might lean to the singles a little bit more," Zhen, who will turn 25 on Saturday, told the Shanghai Morning Post.
"My focus at the Olympics is still the doubles. Yan Zi and I have a better chance in it and we have been preparing for it for the whole year."
In the best performance by a Chinese player at a grand slam to date, wildcard Zheng beat top seed Ana Ivanovic, 15th seed Agnes Szavay and 18th seed Nicole Vaidisova, bowing out to Serena Williams after a second set tiebreak in the semi-finals.
Zheng was ranked a lowly 133rd in the world on arrival at the All England Club after an ankle injury ruled her out for much of last season.
Before the injury she had won 10 doubles titles with Yan and three singles titles but added only the Sydney doubles title after returning this season.
The China Tennis Association (CTA) has targeted the women's doubles gold at the Aug 8-24 Games and deputy director Gao Shenyang said earlier this week that it would remain Zheng's priority.
Zheng has qualified for singles and doubles for the Aug 8-24 Games but the competition will be considerably tougher than when she won both golds at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha.
"Everybody wants an Olympic gold medal and I feel it is more likely to happen in the doubles," Zheng said.
