Junior performance
Chan started playing in the junior circuit in 2002, and reached the SF stage at her first ITF junior event. With solid performances both in junior and challenger events, her combined junior ranking reached No. 2 on May 24, 2004.
However, her most significant junior victory came in 2004 Australian Open Junior Championships, where she partnered Sun Sheng-nan to win the double trophy. The achievement hinted at the emergence of a talented double player.
Professional performance
2003
While still a junior, Chan entered her very first pro tour in Tainan, where she reached the semi-final in the singles, and the quarter-final in the doubles.
Chan started her professional career in 2004. By the end of 2004, she already was the singles title holder of three 10,000 USD ITF events, including Colombo, Jakarta 3, and Taipei. She also won three doubles titles in Jakarta 3, Haibara, and Mount Gambier.
2005
Chan's 2005 season got a strong start with a win in the 25,000 USD ITF event in Taipei. She also won a 50,000 USD ITF event in Fukuoka. Later that year, she qualified for the US Open, but failed to defeat Serena Williams in the first round. After the US Open, she played two qualifying events in Beijing and Seoul, but failed to enter the main draw. However, she teamed up with Chuang Chia-jung to win her first tour-level doubles title in Seoul.
2006
Chan played in the qualifying events of all four grand slams, and qualified into the main draws in Wimbledon and the US Open, but failed to beat resurgent Alicia Molik and Belgian Kirsten Flipkens respectively. Her breakthrough and first tour-level win came at the Tokyo Open, where she reached the SF stage by defeating local favourite and two-time winner Ai Sugiyama. The victory marked her first Top 30 win. She also participated in the doubles event of Tokyo Open and reached the final stage, once again partnering Chuang Chia-jung.
As for her achievements in the challenger circuit: she won the singles titles in Melbourne, Fukuoka, Kurume, and Kaohsiung. Together with regular partner Chuang Chia-jung she also won the doubles titles in Sydney, Gosford, Fukuoka, Kurume, and Kaohsiung. After her victory in Kaohsiung, she surged into the Top 100, and was ranked No. 73 in the singles.
2007
To establish herself in tour level, Chan has only participated in Tour events in the beginning of 2007. She entered the main draws of the Australian Open, Pattaya, Bangalore, and Indian Wells, but failed to advance past the first round. In Miami she reached the second round by defeating Nuria Llagostera Vives, before losing to first seed Maria Sharapova.
Chan finally found her footing after entering the clay court season. In Charleston, she qualified into the main draw, and stunned No. 39 ranked Séverine Brémond in two sets to set up a rematch against reigning Australian Open and Miami winner Serena Williams. Chan was 5–3 up before Serena retired with a groin injury. Her magical journey in Charleston ended in the third round, where she was defeated by Venus Williams in straight sets.
To improve her singles game, Chan entered three ITF pro events after Charleston, and won all three of them. With the success in three events, her ranking rose to career high No.50 on June 11, 2007. In Bangkok, Chan entered her first WTA singles final, but lost to No. 49 ranked Flavia Pennetta in two sets.
Her singles achievements aside, Chan's doubles performance has been stunning. Awarded with a wild-card entry, Chan and Chuang reached the Final stage of the Australian Open, which was Chan's first Grand Slam doubles event ever. On their way to the final, they defeated 2006 US Open doubles finalists Safina/Srebotnik and 2006 Australian Open and Wimbledon champions Yan / Zheng. In February, they participated in two more events. They reached the final in both Pattaya and Bangalore, and won the double title in the latter.
In their Indian Wells debut, they again stormed into the final with back-to-back wins over 2006 Australian Open and Wimbledon champs Yan / Zheng in the QF, and 2006 US Open champions Zvonareva / Dechy in the SF. However, they lost the final to 2006 Roland Garros champions Raymond / Stosur in straight sets. Had they won the final match, they would have beaten every 2006 Grand Slam champion team in one single event. So far, they have made it into the final in all six tour-level doubles events they'd entered. Their finals streak was broken in Miami, where they lost to Raymond / Stosur in the semi-final.
2008
At the Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin, Chan became the last player that top ranked Justine Henin ever beat before she retired the following week
Starting season with an unexpected game lead of 5-1 advantage to Russian World No.4 Elena Dementieva in her first round match in Auckland, New Zealand, but ultimately lost the match. After then, results came uninspired other than winning a round on Melbourne Plexicushion, her first time to do so. It was diagnosed later a fatigue fracture in her left foot, which had to stop her season for 3 months from after Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, to when grass season kicked off. Chan suffered quite a number of upsets since the comeback, but rebounded just well in time during her Asian tour in Autumn, and delighted home crowds by sweeping both singles and doubles (w/Chuang) titles in the Taipei 100K+H ITF tournament. For the 4th year in a row, Chan finished season in top 100.
On the doubles court, Chan shocked World No.1s Cara Black and Liezel Huber with Romanian Monica Niculescu, in the quarter-finals of the Premier level tournament in Stanford. They were defeated by Serena and Venus Williams in the title match after taking out another seeded pair of Maria Kirilenko and Sorana Cirstea.
In the US Open, Chan beat 2 former WTA Top 50s - Anne Keothavong and Tamira Paszek - to make her first R32 in a Grand Slam, her previous best results are R64 at 2008 US Open, 2009 Australian Open, and 2010 Wimbledon. In the third round, she lost 6-1, 6-0 to top seed and World No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki.
2011
In the 2011 Australian Open, Chan reached the final of mixed doubles with Paul Hanley to their first ever grand slam final. Along the way, they defeated defending champions and fourth seeds Cara Black and Leander Paes in two set tiebreakers. However, the pair lost to second seeds Daniel Nestor and Katarina Srebotnik in three sets.
No comments:
Post a Comment