Host China's chances of landing tennis gold at the Games was boosted by Zheng's latest success at Wimbledon despite a largely bleak 18-month run for China's leading women players.

In the best performance by a Chinese player at a grand slam to date, wildcard and 133rd ranked Zheng beat top seed 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, who missed most of last year with an ankle injury, is a former Wimbledon and Australian Open doubles champion as well as an Asian Games doubles and singles champion.

Before the injury she had won 10 doubles titles with her long-time partner Yan Zi and three singles titles but only added the Sydney doubles title after returning this season.

But she is still considered the best chance of China retaining the Olympic women's doubles gold medal won by Sun Tiantian and Li Ting in Athens.

"After the August Olympics I might apply more efforts on the singles, but as for the Beijing Games, my focus is still on the doubles," said Zheng, who just turned 25 on July 5.

"Everybody wants more medals, but I think my partner Yan Zi and I appear more hopeful in the women's doubles and we have been preparing for it for a long time."

Olympic champion Sun will team up with Peng Shuai as the other Chinese pair in the 32-team women's doubles line-up.

The biggest threats for China's hopes of tennis gold in the event will come from the United States, which will be represented by Liezel Huber/Davenport and the Williams sisters.

Liezel Huber is in the U.S. team as a doubles player after competing for South Africa at the 2000 Olympics. The world number one doubles player gained American citizenship in 2007.

The Williams sisters, who just played two matches together during 05-07 seasons, have played 12 matches thus far this season and notched up a Grand Slam doubles title at the 2008 Wimbledon.

The main challengers also include Chinese Taipei's Chan Yung-Jan/Chuang Chia-Jung, Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues/Virginie Ruano Pascual and Ukraine's Bondarenko sisters.

In men's doubles, Israel's Jonathan Erlich/Andy Ram, America's twin brothers Bob and Mike Bryan, Athens' gold medalists Fernando Gonzalez/Massu and bronze medalists Ivan Ljubicic/Mario Ancic are among the medal hopefuls.

Countries are allowed a maximum of six players in the Olympic tournament with no more than four in the singles. They are allowed two doubles pairs.

Tennis was a part of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 but was withdrawn after the 1924 Paris Games. It returned as a demonstration event in the 1984 Los Angeles Games and became a full medal sport again in 1988.

(Xinhua News Agency July 17, 2008)