Zheng, Yan eating in at French Open
Maybe its something in the food that has turned Zheng Jie and Yan Zi into Chinas pre-eminent doubles team.
The two-time Grand Slam doubles champions are bidding for their first French Open title, but instead of enjoying the local fare with other Chinese players like Peng Shuai and Li Na, they have been cooking Chinese food in their hotel room near the Eiffel Tower.
I do the rice, said Zheng, who also reached the singles semifinals at Wimbledon last year. Peng Shuai knows how to cook. And we eat together.
Zheng and Yan won Chinas first Grand Slam title at the 2006 Australian Open, and added a second at Wimbledon that same year.
Now theyre looking forward to a sustained run at Roland Garros, where they advanced to the second round by beating Edina Gallovits of Romania and Olga Govortsova of Belarus 6-4, 6-2 in the first round Tuesday.
No matter where youre a champion, youre happy, Yan said.
Zheng and Yan made it to the semifinals at the French Open in 2006, but they found it tough in the first round this time.
It was hard to relax at first but it got better as we played on, Yan said.
Zheng added: Well take it one step at a time.
The exploits of the pair combined with the success of Peng and Li on the WTA Tour have helped tennis grow in China, a country obsessed with table tennis.
There are now more people in China who like to watch tennis, Zheng said, and a lot of people coming to play tennis.
China has three players seeded at Roland Garros, the first time that has happened at a Grand Slam tournament. Besides the 15th-seeded Zheng, who beat then top-ranked Ana Ivanovic in her run at last years Wimbledon, Li was seeded No. 25 and Peng No. 31.
Zheng, who has cousins in France who come to Roland Garros to watch her play, is taking it all in stride.
I just want to enjoy my tennis, she said.
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WINNING DEBUT: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga finally won a match at the French Open.
The 2008 Australian Open finalist beat Julien Benneteau 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 on center court Tuesday in his first match at Roland Garros since 2005.
Its a relief, the Frenchman said. And also, it encourages me to continue in the same way.
Tsonga lost in the first round in his only other French Open as a wild card. He wasnt ranked high enough to make the main draw in 2006 and 07, and he missed last years tournament with a knee injury.
Its very important for me to start the meter going, Tsonga said. I was very frustrated sometimes, indeed. But it was because of outside conditions, because of the wind, but not because of my game.
After the win, Tsonga arrived at the news conference wearing a tie.
In other sports when you come to a press conference, you have to respect, to comply with a dress code, so I thought that in tennis, too, we could show we have certain ethics, Tsonga said. I believe its important. We have beautiful tournaments, and we should show a bit of respect.
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KEEPING THE FAITH: Jelena Jankovic has been No. 1 in the world, so her priority now is to shed the distinction of never having won a Grand Slam singles title.
This is my priority and this is my goal for this moment, said Jankovic, the 2008 U.S. Open runner-up. I like being the No. 1, but unfortunately in this moment Im not.
To be honest, Im not really thinking about the ranking. Im just thinking about my game. How can I improve? How can I get better as a player?
Jankovic, who started the year as No. 1 and has dropped to No. 5, reached the French Open semifinals in the last two years, losing each time to the eventual champion.
In the first round at this years tournament, the 24-year-old Serb beat Petra Cetkovska of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-3 despite a 2-hour rain delay.
Its not really easy to come back, Jankovic said. But I managed to finish the job in two sets, so Im happy to get through.
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YOUNG AND LEARNING: The youngest player in the womens field went to overtime in her French Open debut before losing.
Frances 16-year-old Kristina Mladenovic came close to reaching the second round but was eliminated by Slovakias Magdalena Rybarikova 6-1, 2-6, 8-6 Tuesday.
Well, Im 16 only, so each match is full of things that I need to learn, Mladenovic said. So Im disappointed because I lost. But this is something that I learned and something Ill use for the future.
Mladenovic had a hard time dealing with Tuesdays rain delay.
I tried to manage that as well as I could, but I dont have much experience, she said.
