Just in time, team finds perfect pair

China's Grand Slam winners Zheng Jie and Yan Zi ended their three-month title drought at the Family Circle Cup yesterday, but new pairing Peng Shuai and Sun Tiantian stole the limelight simply by making it to the final.

China's Shuai Peng returnsthe ball during her match against Tatiana Golovin of France during the third round of the Family Circle Cup tennis tournament Thursday, April 12, 2007, in Charleston, S.C.[AP]

After the retirement of Olympic gold medalist Li Ting the country has been searching for another competitive doubles pair in a bid to repeat the success of the Athens Games next year in Beijing.

Despite a 7-5, 6-0 loss in Charleston to their teammates Zheng and Yan in the WTA's first ever All-Chinese doubles final at a Tier I event, Peng and Sun have all but secured their place in China's Olympic team.

"They are very likely to become our second pair at the Beijing Olympics," Gao Shenyang, vice-director of the Administrative Center of Tennis, said. "We want to field the best possible players at the Olympics. They have a mixture of experience and talent and they played much better than we expected. Peng is already a good singles player, so I think there will be great chemistry between them in the very near future."

Paired for the second time at a major tournament, the duo proved an instant hit, ousting world No 1s Samantha Stosur and Lisa Raymond in the second round and then rallying to beat Flavia Pennatta and Gisela Dulko. They were quickly given the nickname "Tian-Shuai" by Chinese media, meaning "sweet and graceful".

"It's quite comfortable playing with Peng," said doubles veteran Sun Tiantian after the match. "I think we've got great rhythm because our games are similar. Peng is a very powerful player and things are much easier when she is around."

China has had trouble finding a second doubles force since Olympian champions Li Ting and Sun Tiantian began to lose form in 2005. Different rotations were tested this year Li Na, Peng Shuai, as well as youngsters Sun Shengnan and Ji Chunmei, but none of them have looked capable of assisting Zheng and Yan in the country's gold medal quest next year.

The two Suns played some good tennis during a six-game winning streak early in the season and reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, but Sun Shengnan's modest singles ranking (235) makes it hard for her to secure a berth in the Beijing draw.

Gao said the two pairs will be finalized in late June, when a new Olympic Points System takes effect, but if Peng and Sun keep up their good form the decision could come sooner.

"We don't need to wait that long because they are already showing something we are looking for," said Gao. "Personally I hope we can fix it as soon as possible to give them more tournaments to get used to playing with each other. We have already discussed the matter with the coaches."

On the singles' side, Peng has shown signs of improvement after teaming up with Chinese-American Michael Chang in four tournaments in North America. She climbed up to No 32 from 65 and upset Swiss veteran Patty Schnyder last week en route to the quarterfinals.

Chang has yet to reach a formal agreement with Peng's Tianjin Tennis Team, but his efforts have made a difference.

"I had some tough days last year and it was Chang who turned it around," Peng said. "He gave me the confidence to brush aside a daunting 2006 season. We really feel good with each other and he brought me a lot of energy."

The new pair, however, won't have any time to rest as they will lead China at the Fed Cup tie against Italy this month.

According to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the players need to compete in at least two Fed Cup ties to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games. World No 17 Li and No 33 Zheng have been sidelined to give younger players a chance to rack up Olympic ranking points.

Peng and Sun Tiantian are expected to fill in and shoulder the task of leading the national team to an historic high.

"This is another test for them," said Gao. "A few victories in the US doesn't guarantee anything. They need to keep the momentum at the upcoming events."