Mentally stronger Peng Shuai still has soft spot for doubles
Despite a dream run in the US Open singles, the Chinese star won't suddenly change tack and is eyeing success at the Rio Olympics
With the 2016 Rio Olympics as a target, China sensation Peng Shuai won't give up playing doubles even though her dream run at the US Open last week - where she reached the semi-finals - has encouraged her to focus more on singles.
Peng, 28, was due to play in the singles main draw at the Prudential Hong Kong Open, but pulled out after doctors told her to take a two-week rest after heatstroke felled her in her US Open semi-final against Dane Caroline Wozniacki.
On Thursday, she turned up at Victoria Park and all the media attention was on her and not on the centre-court action where compatriots Zheng Jie and Zhang Kailin battled it out in a second-round match.
I will continue to play doubles. I had a surprise result [at the US Open] but this will not mean I will give up doubles
"I will continue to play doubles. I had a surprise result [at the US Open] but this will not mean I will give up doubles," said Peng who was world No 1 in doubles earlier this year. She is now ranked No 21 in singles after her US Open effort.
"What I will need to do is work harder and become fitter so that I can play both. I will play doubles next year because after that the Olympics will come around. I will play in the Olympics with one of the Chinese players," she said.
Together with Taiwan's Hsieh Su-wei - who is partnering her younger sister Hsieh Shu-ying in the doubles competition in Hong Kong - Peng won the doubles at this year's French Open as well as Wimbledon last year. They also won the doubles competition at the WTA Finals last year. This year the pair have played "12 or 13 tournaments together" and will defend their WTA Finals crown in Singapore next month.
The focus has been on her singles after her US Open run where she stunned more fancied opponents. She knocked out fifth seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the second round and accounted for four more opponents without dropping a set.
But the stress of playing both singles and doubles took a toll as she was struck down by the heat in the semi-finals, trailing Wozniacki 7-6, 4-3.
"My body was really tired and I felt my energy go. The doctor told me not to continue but I told her, 'Give me one more chance'," Peng recalled. "I wanted to give my maximum on court."
She hobbled back but could not last, dropping to her knees sobbing before she was taken away from court in a wheelchair to hospital having conceded her first grand slam semi-final through injury.
The experience, though, seems to have given the China No 2 - behind Li Na - a boost.
"I feel mentally stronger now. In the past I would feel shaky and afraid, but at the US Open I felt as if I had more courage. This was a big step up for me and it helped my game."
But is she ready to step out of the shadow of Li Na? "Everyone asked me [at the US Open] if I was ready to step out of Serena's [Williams] shadow. Everybody compares, but I have never felt as if I have been in Li Na's shadow. We both play for the same country. She is the best player in China."
