Chinese tennis comes of age at Australian Open

The prospect of an all-Williams semi final at the Australian Open has been surpassed by a far more intriguing possibility - that of an all-Chinese ladies final.

Li Na became the second Chinese woman in the semi finals after she produced an upset to see off Venus Williams 2-6, 7-6, 7-5. Her compatriot Zheng Jie, who became the first Chinese woman to make a Grand Slam semi final at Wimbledon in 2008, is also in the last four.

In China the pair have been named the "The Golden Flowers" and their success has sparked huge interest. TV, newspapers and websites in China are suddenly affording blanket coverage to tennis, which is growing massively in popularity in China.

Li's run to the semis will earn her a place in the top 10 rankings while Zheng's performance will catapult her into the top 20. Li in particular has earned a following among fans in Melbourne thanks to her personality and good English. After her win she said: "For Zheng Jie, for me, for my country and my fans, it is a good thing. Tennis in China right now is getting bigger and bigger."

However they both have mountains to climb if the dream of an all Chinese final is to materialise. Having beaten one of the Williams sisters Li must now face the other - defending champion Serena - in her semi final. Zheng has an equally tough task against the unseeded Justine Henin, who has demolished all-comers since her return from self-imposed retirement.

Both the Chinese players are comparatively old for the women's tour. Zheng is 26 and Li 27, but both have experienced their best years since being allowed to manage their own careers. Controversially by Chinese standards the pair, plus fellow players Peng Shuai and Yan Zi, were granted the freedom to manage their own careers in December 2008.

That means they now control their schedules, coaches and back-up teams. They are also able to keep the prizemoney - most of which used to go to the Chinese Tennis Association. So far the players have prospered under the new system and it would seem that a Chinese Grand Slam success is not far off.

In the men's draw at Melbourne favourite Roger Federer recovered from a shaky start to overwhelm Nikolay Davydenko and book his place in the semi-finals.

Federer found himself a set and 3-1 down before reeling off an astonishing run of 13 consecutive games to take the second set 6-3 and then shut out Davydenko 6-0 in the third. The Russian regained some of his composure in the the fourth set but eventually lost it 7-5. ·