World Tennis - China's coming Everybody is talking about China. No exception for those from the tennis world. 　　For a sport invented in Britain over 200 years ago, tennis used to be regarded as a "royal" event in China which could only be touched by high-ranked officials and big-money earners. 　 But with China becoming more and more a global power economically, tennis, the second most popular sport in the world after football, has witnessed stunning results from Chinese players in the international arena. 　　Zheng Jie became the first Chinese tennis player in the history to enter the fourth round of the prestigious French Open. The 21-year-old woman's performance for the first time put Chinese professionals on the world tennis map. 　　Only a few months later, Zheng's teammates Sun Tian-Tian and Li Ting produced one of the biggest surprises in the Athens Olympic Games last August, winning the gold medal in the women's doubles event. The tennis gold, the first one in the Chinese history, was dubbed one of the most precious golds among the 32 China won in Athens. 　　Another miracle was created on October 3 when Li Na became the first Chinese player to win a WTA event title in the Guangzhou tournament. 　　Analysts said the four Chinese players' performances in the past year had resulted from the bold participation in international tennis events of both the Chinese players, sponsors and the Chinese Tennis Association (CTA) in the past decade. "Chinese players began to take part in international competitions in early 1990s, so the improvements are dramatic," CTA vice president Zhang Xiaoning said. 　　Zhang said that American Chinese Michael Chang has played a very important role in the development of Chinese professional tennis, who was just a piece of "blank paper" in the 1980s. 　　"Chang, who stands only 1.75 meters, opened a door for the Chinese players after he became the youngest player at 17 to win the French Open in 1989. He reminded the Chinese people that they can play tennis, too," Zhang said. 　　Soon after his success in Paris, Chang was invited to play in Beijing on an annual basis and won three consecutive titles in the Salem Open, which was the first-ever ATP tournament held in China. 　　His appearances brought about instant interests from Chinese sports fans and enterprises. 　　Tennis competitions need enormous money to attract first-class players, and foreign companies found tennis competitions precious chances to help them tap the world's biggest potential market. 　　In 1998, two tennis tournaments sanctioned by ATP and WTA, world's tennis governing bodies for the men and the women respectively, were held in Shanghai bearing the title of Dutch beer manufacturer Heineken. From these tournaments, Chinese fans got the chance to have a close look at world super stars like Andre Agassi and Monica Seles, both multi-Grand Slam winners. 　　These tournaments also proved a turning point for Chinese tennis and they paved the way for the ATP Masters Cup, the season-ending event with a world record prize money of 3.5 million US dollars and featuring world's top eight players, to come to Shanghai in 2002. 　　When Shanghai officials appeared in London's Wimbledon in July, 2001, to make the announcement that Shanghai would host the Masters Cup, some 100 reporters covering the Wimbledon championships were surprised. They just could not believe it. 　　"Nobody could believe that China has the ability to host such a big event. Some even said it was a risky move for the ATP," said ATP Executive vice- president Brad Drewett. "But the Cup proved an absolute success. The Shanghai fans were amazing." 　　He added: "We are pleased with the significant amount of corporate interest in sponsoring the Masters Cup in Shanghai, especially from so many companies that are new to tennis." 　　And more surprises came soon after that. In 2003, the CTA announced to launch a new tournament of China Open in 2004. It said the one million US dollars event will be the fifth Grand Slam in the near future. 　　Germany's renowned, luxury car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz immediately announced that it will sign a long-term contract with the China Open. 　　"Mercedes-Benz comprehends the unlimited potential of the Chinese market, which is the same belief we have for the China Open," the company said in a statement. 　　The world's best players, including former French Open champions Juan Carlos Ferrero and Carlos Moya, former US Open champion Marat Safin, former Wimbledon runner-up David Nalbandian, newly crowned Queen of Wimbledon Maria Sharapova, and 14 times Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, all competed in the inaugural China Open. 　　"There is rising public interest in tennis in a nation long obsessed with table tennis. Despite expensive court fees, expanding numbers of China's burgeoning middle class are picking up racquets or enrolling their children in tennis classes," Drewett said. 　　And the CTA is not satisfied with just spending money on international events. It also revealed ambitious plans to invest generously to nurture their own super stars. 　　"We want more. We should have our own Michael Chang," Sun said. 　　Sun revealed that in the near future the CTA will pay millions of US dollars to bring in foreign coaches to help train China's teenage players. 　　And the ATP has full confidence in the future of the Chinese professional tennis and it's market. It decided as early as 2003 that Shanghai has been awarded the right to host three Masters Cups from 2005 to 2007. 　　"We can all be confident that the Masters Cup during that time will build upon the platform of interest in tennis in China," said Drewett. "We feel the combination of a great venue and top players will make the Masters Cup in Shanghai a huge success. We are also firmly confident sooner or later China will have their own super stars." --

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