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She is China's only tennis player to combine the Olympic Games and Grand Slam champions, and in her career she has set a stunning record of three wins against tennis diva Williams sisters in singles and doubles. She is also the forerunner of our Chinese tennis, as the representative of Jinhua who is in the same batch as Li Na and Zheng Jie, although she has not really achieved "solo flight", she is the most direct witness and beneficiary of the reform and take-off of Chinese tennis. In this issue of "Good Music in the Sports World", let's listen to Sun Tiantian's tennis story.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="12" > Olympic champion who only asked for a "round trip" before the Athens Olympics</h1>
I was with my teammates Zhang Dongshuang (first from left) and Li Ting/Sun Tiantian at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha
My partner Li Ting used to partner Li Na at the 2000 Sydney Olympics to compete in the women's tennis doubles. However, after the 2001 National Games, due to Li Na's temporary retirement, Li Ting suddenly lost her doubles partner, so the two of us began to match in 2002. During that time, we both spent time together day and night, eating, living and training together, so we knew each other quite well.
Of course, like many girls, in the early stage of pairing, we will always have some small conflicts in training and life, and each of us will look at each other unfavorably. Later, the leaders and coaches did a lot of work for us, and let both of us "spit" our dissatisfaction with each other in person, which finally made us realize that in fact, our contradictions are just some trivialities, and in the face of the Olympic Games and the big goals of our careers, this is not a thing. After better understanding the common ideal, we are more and more tacit in cooperation regardless of the field or off the field. I remember that in the first international competition we participated in after the pairing, Li Ting and I won the championship. Although the level of the game is not high, it also boosts our morale to a great extent.
Gold Medal Partner
However, we have no confidence in achieving good results in the Olympic Games. First of all, the Chinese team has not won even one of the main matches since the first time in 1992 when it sent its team to participate in olympic tennis matches, and then in the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games. Secondly, athens olympic tennis women's doubles has eight seeded seats, we are at the bottom, and in the first round we have to face what is arguably the strongest combination of non-seeded players – Dawei/Rubin from the United States. As Li Ting, who once participated in the last Olympic Games but returned home, she even smiled bitterly with me before the game: "It's over, I have to 'round the tour' again." ”
Although we are not optimistic about the prospects of participation, we definitely hope to make some breakthroughs in our hearts. For us, if we can achieve the top eight in the Olympics, it is a very good result. Throughout the Olympic Games, the most stressful thing for us was the first match and the semi-finals. The first game we had against Dawei/Rubin, we also really wanted to win, and I was playing the Olympics for the first time, so I played very tightly, but fortunately I won it in the end. In the semi-finals we were a pair against Argentina. In another semi-final played before our match, Japan's Ashi Sugiyama/Asakikoshi lost to the Spanish duo. We think that if we lose to Argentina and then try to compete with Japan for third place, the odds are not particularly good, after all, the Combination of Japan is also very strong, so we are not confident that we can win a medal. So in this semi-final, we were fighting from beginning to end, and finally playing until the long game to win.
At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens
After these two battles, we have been in a relaxed mood to the final, without any pressure, after all, at least one medal has arrived, which is already history for us tennis, so it doesn't seem to matter much whether we win or lose in the final. With the blessing of this good mentality, we played very openly in the final and finally won the favor of the goddess of victory.
Looking back on my trip to the Olympics, my biggest impression is that I had a very good day in the Olympic Village. The basic goal I set for myself before the game was that I would be happy to finish the Olympics regardless of the outcome, so the mentality gave us a big boost. Of course, more importantly, we have done enough in normal times, and at the same time, when we have the opportunity, we have caught it, and then the championship beckons to us.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="36" > "big and small" nemesis</h1>
Throughout the period when I played, I think the hardest opponent was undoubtedly Serena Williams, who also won the most Grand Slam titles (23) since the open era. I think one of the most remarkable things about Serena is that her play style is basically not outdated, and she belongs to the ability type. She can use her own strength to suppress against those skilled players who are good at changing, and when playing against other skilled players, her own ability is even better, so it is really difficult to defeat her. However, I won her in the second round of the 2005 China Open, becoming the first Chinese athlete in history to defeat Serena Williams in an official match.
In fact, before fighting Against Xiao Wei, I myself did not have much hope to defeat her, and I had a feeling that where to fight was where to count, after all, her strength was recognized by the whole world. But as the game progressed, I found that I gradually entered the state of the game, as if there was even a possibility of winning. The most nervous thing in the game was the second set, and she and I played until the end of the seventh to win. I think if I had lost the seventh at that point, it would have been more difficult for me to win the third set in terms of her personal ability.
In the 2005 China Open, Sun Tiantian was in the game
It's particularly interesting to say that I have played three times in a single and doubles with the Williams sisters, and I have won all of them, and I sometimes laugh at myself that I may be a bit "Kweed". The first time I won the game was in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games with Li Ting to defeat Dawei/Rubin, the second time was the Chinese Open singles victory over Serena Williams, and the third time in a game in India, Peng Shuai and I matched to win the two sisters.
I think the example of my victory can prove that even "diva" level players like Dawei are human beings and have their own weaknesses, not that weak opponents can't seize the opportunity to defeat them in one fell swoop. In the face of strong players, the most important thing for the players who are relatively weak to win is to prepare for the game and analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the other side, so that their advantages can be better played. The second is to strengthen confidence, every point must be fought, in order to break the other party's inner defense line and physical strength.
Witness moments of history
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="51" > guest profiles</h1>
Sun Tiantian, born on October 12, 1981 in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, began practicing tennis at the Henan Amateur Sports School in 1989, entered the Henan tennis team in 1993, and was selected for the national training team in 2000.
In 2004, she partnered with Li Ting to win the women's doubles championship in WTA Vienna, Quebec and Pattaya.
In August 2004, she partnered with Li Ting at the Athens Olympic Games to win China's first and only Olympic tennis gold medal so far;
In 2005, she defeated defending champion Serena Williams in the second round of the women's singles match of the China Open, becoming the first player in Chinese history to defeat the tennis "diva";
In the 2008 Australian Open, Sun Tiantian partnered with Serbian doubles star Zemundzic to win the mixed doubles title;
In 2009, Sun Tiantian retired after the National Games that year and began to work at the Henan Table Tennis Network Center.
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