Fernando Gonzalez bought a jade stone for some much-needed luck
in Beijing - and that's exactly what it brought him on the first
day of the China Open.
The second-seeded Chilean edged out Alexander Peya of Austria
3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the first round of Beijing's biggest tennis
tournament yesterday, ending a five-match losing streak after the
Wimbledon Open in June.
"My lucky jade really helped me," said Gonzalez, the only seeded
player on court yesterday.
"I feel great to win my first match since Wimbledon - I see it
as a chance to turn around my luck on the tour."
Gonzalez, the Australian Open finalist, failed to win a singles
match in North America this summer after his fourth-round Wimbledon
finish saw his confidence plummet.
"I was just losing and losing over months," he said.
"But I tried hard to stay focused and look forward to future
matches and prepared for the next opportunity, I am happy that my
losing is over today."
Refreshed from a first-round exit at the US Open a week ago,
Gonzalez hung on by the skin of his teeth.
In his first match in China, the Chilean staged a remarkable
comeback, holding a strong challenge from world No 155 Peya before
a partisan crowd.
Gonzalez, however, looked listless in the first set.
He was down 3-0 when Peya broke his first serve and conceded the
set in 26 minutes with little resistance.
With people predicting he would repeat his lackluster summer,
the Chilean managed to break serve in the third game of the second
set before breaking twice in the deciding set to claim the
victory.
"I know the first match is always tough," he said.
"I had five minutes to get used to the new courts and
circumstances and then when I found my serve and strokes, things
became a lot better."
Also delighting fans was home qualifier Zeng Shaoxuan, who won a
chance to challenge fifth-seed Marcus Baghdatis after upsetting Nam
Hyun-woo of South Korea 6-1, 6-3.
Zeng, ranked No 795, is slated to meet the world No 18 from
Cyprus in his first ever second-round match at an ATP
tournament.
"I played at my level," said China's National Games champion
Zeng, who played only two ATP tournaments this year.
"Playing in front of home fans made me really nervous, but I am
happy I win the match here and didn't let them disappointed.
"I haven't played against a top player like Baghdatis, so I
don't know if there is anything for me to prepare. I just want to
stand on the center court and try to win some games."
(China Daily September 11, 2007)
