Wu refreshed at China Town before Australian Open

Updated: 2013-01-14 14:38

By Sun Xiaochen (chinadaily.com.cn)

  Print Mail Large Medium  Small 0

Wu refreshed at China Town before Australian Open

 

Wu Di of China serves during a practice session at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, January 13, 2013.[Photo/Agencies] 

 

To ease the stress of his Grand Slam main draw debut, Wu Di's French coach, David Moreau, took him to Melbourne's China Town on the eve of his Australian Open debut.

"He will visit China Town (as the last lead-up to first round). I want his head off tennis to refresh himself," Moreau told China Daily after Chinese wild-card Wu's training session on Sunday.

"He knows he's the first (Chinese) man and realizes the pressure. He saw the Chinese media following him. I want him to get rid of tennis a bit - a light day for his mind. Don't think about tennis, talk Chinese with friends."

Wu has been hitting balls for three or four hours every day under the burning sun in Melbourne and the last practice session on Monday only lasted an hour.

Moreau said that was enough on-court training for him.

"Just practice in the morning and feel the ball before the match day. It's more about getting him 100 percent ready without feeling the pressure. I don't want him to be stiff, just to go out and enjoy the match."

Wu will face world No 74 Ivan Dodig of Croatia in the men's singles first round on Tuesday.

8.03K