Taipei, Jan. 22 (CNA) Taiwan's Hsieh Su-wei achieved a major breakthrough at the Australian Open last week, becoming the country's first singles player to reach the fourth round of a grand slam event.
Now the Chinese Taipei Tennis Association (CTTA) is hoping that Hsieh and her teammates Chan Yung-jan, Chuang Chia-jung, and Chan Chin-wei will do the same in international competition and propel Taiwan farther than it has ever gone in the Federation Cup.
The association introduced the lineups Monday for the women's Fed Cup and men's Davis Cup teams that begin their 2008 campaigns in the coming weeks, and CTTA President Yeh Cheng-yen said that Hsieh's exploits in Melbourne were a promising sign.
"It took a lot of effort to produce a player of Hsieh's caliber. She lost to [Justine] Henin but her game was impressive and gave hope for the future, " Yeh said.
What the association official could not promise was that the players called up for the Fed Cup and Davis Cup ties would be healthy, which has proven to be the downfall of local teams in recent years.
Seeking to become the first team from Taiwan to reach the Federation Cup World Group II last year, the women stormed through the Asia/Oceania Zone Group I competition before falling to Croatia 3-2 in the World Group II playoff. An ailing Chan Yung-jan put up little resistance in one singles match and sat out the other as Taiwan could only secure one of the four singles matches.
Their task will be more difficult this year with the presence of he battle-hardened Australians and Sania Mirza-led Indians in the Asia/Oceania Group I tournament, to be played in Bangkok, Thailand from Jan. 28 to Feb. 3.
Only the winner of the eight-team group that also features Hong Kong, Indonesia, New Zealand, Uzbekistan and host Thailand will advance to the World Group II playoffs. The eight teams will be divided into groups of four, the winners of which will face off for a spot in the playoffs.
Team Taiwan manager Wang Shi-ting said Hsieh, Chan Yung-jan, and Chuang Chia-jung will join the team in Bangkok directly from Melbourne.
The doubles duo of Chan and Chuang, finalists at the Australian Open in 2007, were upset in the round of 16 this year at Melbourne, but while they may not be in their best form, they should still have enough to give Taiwan a crucial lift in Bangkok, where each tie will feature two singles and one doubles match.
The men's Davis Cup team, to play Australia in a first round Asia/Oceania Group I tie in Kaohsiung from Feb. 8-10, will feature Lu Yen-hsun, Wang Yeu-tzuoo, Chen Ti and surprise inclusion 17-year-old Yang Tsung-hua.
Lu, ranked 112th in the world, and Wang, ranked 147th, have been ranked in the top 100 in the past but were derailed for much of last year with injuries and illness. Wang is still recovering from a viral infection that kept him out of action the last two months of 2007.
While the team may be more unified and better organized than it has been in the past, it faces a supreme test in Kaohsiung with world no. 22 and former Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt scheduled to lead the Australians.
Yang, who has reached the round of 16 in the juniors singles at the Australian Open, was included in a Davis Cup lineup for the first time.