"They need to focus on the ball, not the newspaper or television. I want them to play in the way they did four years ago. They were newcomers at that time and they were nobody, they could just step onto a court and enjoy the games, because every point was a bonus."

But Gao cannot simply turn back the clock to the early years. After Li Ting and Sun won China its first-ever Olympic gold medal in Athens four years ago, tennis has grown from a luxurious pastime into one of the nation's favorite events, on par with women's volleyball, table tennis and diving. Interest is so high that in 2006 Beijing Television opted to broadcast Zheng and Yan's Wimbledon doubles final rather than the soccer World Cup final.

Out of shape, out of form

But injuries and poor conditioning are just as much to blame for China's recent poor form. China's No 1 singles player Li, for example, will be unable to play at Roland Garros as she is rehabbing her knee in Germany after surgery last month.

Zheng and Yan, who won doubles titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2006, have also struggled to get in shape this year. They lost to Spanish rivals Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual 6-4, 6-2 at the Rome Open last week. Later in the week at the German Open, they won only three games in a humiliating loss to another Spanish pair Nuria Llagostera Vives and Maria Jose Martinez in Berlin. The Chinese pair - both from Chengdu, Sichuan province - have lost all five matches they have played since March.

Zheng will automatically enter the Games as long as her doubles partner maintains her current ranking. But the situation is not as hopeful for the other pair, Peng and Sun.

Peng, No 66, needs to climb 10 spots in Paris to land a spot. Sun, who is ranked No 20 in doubles and a distant 208 in singles rankings, has a much longer road ahead of her.

CTA, for its part, has done everything in its power to improve the performances of its players. It established a training base in Jiangmen, Guangdong province, including a 40-man research team to monitor performances. It has employed a number of experienced foreign coaches to lend their expertise. CTA even allowed Li's husband Jiang Shan to accompany her to international tournaments, an unprecedented move for any national team as romances are strictly forbidden to interfere with performance.

"I am confident we will realize our Olympic goal, though there could be many challenges along the road," Zheng said. "I believe I can overcome them because there are so many people behind us.

"My teammates and I are making the best possible preparations for the Olympics, and we will show our best form at the Games."

(China Daily May 22, 2008)