Zheng Jie of China returns the ball during the quarterfinals of this year's Wimbledon Championships in London, July 1 (XINHUA)

Tennis has become a popular sport in China in recent years. One reason for this was because Li Ting and Sun Tiantian made history on August 22 at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, by becoming the first two Chinese players to win gold medals in the women's doubles of Olympic tennis. Indeed, they were the first ever gold medallists in China's tennis history. But for Tian Huipeng, an 11-year-old Beijing girl, her love for tennis began with the 2006 Australian Open, when Zheng Jie and Yan Zi won China's first women's doubles title at a Grand Slam.

"The first time I watched a tennis match I became a witness of a historic moment. I was lucky and totally fascinated by tennis," Tian recalls.

"The time for doing physical exercise in Beijing's all primary and middle schools is longer than before, thanks to the Olympics. By the way, 14 out of 28 my classmates started to play tennis because of me, a super tennis fan," Tian told Beijing Review with a big smile.

In June this year, Tian took a course at the Beijing Tianli Tennis Club. All of her teammates, three girls and six boys under the age of 12, participated in a teenage tennis competition organized by the city's tennis association last weekend.

"We had to prolong the event from two and a half days to three days because it attracted some 300 teenage players, which was much higher than expectations. Maybe because their passion for sports is getting stronger and stronger as the Olympics is approaching." Liu Xiuqin, director of the liaison department of the Beijing Tianli Tennis Club, told Beijing Review.

"In fact, some were regular participants; but most of them were new faces here," Liu added.

Tian was definitely a new face. "It will be my first ever tennis match. I have nothing to lose since I attended the tennis class only a few weeks ago," said Tian, who was watching her teammate's match while doing warm-up exercises. "The reason for participation is to have fun."

Tian said she would stay at home to watch the Olympic tennis because the tickets were all sold out. She wishes for her favorite stars--Roger Federer of Swiss and Ana Ivanovic of Serbia--to play well; but the gold medals, in her opinion, would go to Rafael Nadal of Spain and Venus Williams of the United States, because the pair just won this year's Wimbledon Championships.

"The Chinese female players may reach the semifinal if they get a good draw. Take Zheng Jie as an example. She entered the lady's singles semifinal of this year's Wimbledon Championships because of her excellent technique, a strong fortitude, and perhaps some good luck. Therefore, her performance at the Olympics will be worth noticing. As to the women's doubles, the two Chinese pairs, Zheng Jie/Yan Zi and Peng Shuai/Sun Tiantian, will play well given their records," said Tian.

Tian's view was echoed by Jiang Hongwei, head coach of the Chinese national women's tennis team. "The nationwide high expectation for Zheng Jie's gold medal in women's singles is understandable, but our strategy remains unchanged--the doubles was and will always take priority to the singles," said Jiang in a recent interview with Sohu.com. "We could reach the doubles final after five rounds of competition, which seems less difficult than the singles. Moreover, our strategies are specifically designed to deal with the Olympic tennis courts in Beijing."

"We will try our best to compete in the Olympic Games on the home soil. We have been preparing for it for a long time. It's the time to show our strength," Jiang continued.

The upcoming Beijing Olympic Games, as Jiang said, can be seen as a stage for athletes and their coaches to perform as best as they can. "The Beijing Olympic tennis, according to sources from the Internet, can be seen as the fifth Grand Slam, in line with the Australian Open, the French Open, the Wimbledon Championships, and the U.S. Open, because most of the world top 20 players--17 males and 18 females--will come to Beijing," said Tian.

For young tennis lovers like Tian, the Olympics is a place where they can realize their dreams. "Tennis fans in China like me can enjoy the games without the time difference," said Tian.

"My dream is to become a professional tennis player who has good qualities in both physical and mental conditions. I know clearly that it is by no means an easy job and has a long way to go. I'll try my best to make it come true," she said.