![Sun breaks through for New Zealand at Wimbledon](https://www.portugalcolonial.pt/media/shared/articles/ee/f7/6a/Sun-breaks-through-for-New-Zealand--597120.jpg)
-
In the heart of Mauritania's desert, a green oasis cultivates equality
-
Ukraine relies on friends as Russia strikes power grid
-
The pacifist politician hoping to change Russia
-
Gatland demands more disciplined Wales in second Australia Test
-
Colombia defeat Uruguay to reach Copa America final
-
Embattled Biden to give high-stakes press conference
-
Zelensky to take center stage as NATO summit also looks to Asia
-
England's Baxter, 22, to start in front row against All Blacks
-
China building more wind, solar capacity than rest of world combined: report
-
Lorenzo hails Colombia's bravery in Copa semi triumph
-
Asian markets track Wall St records after Powell hints at rate cut
-
The two candidates challenging Kagame again
-
Fiji count on 'commanding' Tuwai to bring home third Olympic gold
-
Nunez, Uruguay players brawl in stands with fans after Copa loss
-
Ghost Cyprus resort bears scars of half-century of division
-
Slipper to captain Australia against Wales after Wright ruled out
-
Water shortages worsen as funding dries up for northwest Syria displaced
-
Colombia defeat Uruguay 1-0 to reach Copa America final
-
Canada conservationists push back as grizzly hunting ban lifted
-
AI accessibility? Blind gamer puts ChatGPT to the test
-
Paris dream of swimming in the Seine part of its Olympics vision
-
Brazil's vaunted Academy seeks to shed image as white men's club
-
Paul Kagame: Rwanda's polarising strongman
-
Rwanda heads to the polls as Kagame makes fourth-term bid
-
Christie is only All Blacks change for second England Test
-
Argentine woman raped, beaten by French rugby players: lawyer
-
F-16s will boost Ukraine defenses, but not a 'silver bullet'
-
French rugby players' alleged rape victim suffered 'fierce' violence: lawyer
-
Wales' Wainwright, Hathaway ruled out of second Australia Test
-
Biden hails 'best of allies' in first talks with UK's Starmer
-
Archegos founder Bill Hwang guilty in multibillion-dollar fraud case
-
Biden congratulates Starmer on historic win - at Euro 2024
-
Southgate takes pride at 'modern England' reaching Euros final
-
Understated Mainoo vital as England reach Euro 2024 final
-
US coach Berhalter fired after Copa flop - report
-
Euro 2024 exit hard to take for Dutch coach Koeman
-
Stegosaurus skeleton to fetch millions at New York auction
-
What's NATO pledged to Ukraine at the Washington summit?
-
Amazon tribes win lawsuit over carbon credits in Colombia
-
Watkins 'manifested' England Euros winner against Netherlands
-
Southgate vindicated as super subs send England into Euros final
-
Super-sub Watkins sends England past Netherlands and into Euro 2024 final
-
Musk's Neuralink eyes more test subjects for its brain tech
-
Ex-Wales scrum-half Webb to appeal four-year doping ban
-
UK police arrest crossbow attack suspect after three women killed
-
England quick Atkinson savours dream debut against West Indies
-
Scandal-hit France ease past Uruguay
-
Atkinson's magnificent seven against West Indies upstages Anderson exit
-
CNN plans to launch paid streaming service, cut 100 jobs
-
NATO begins sending F-16 jets in new support for Ukraine
![Sun breaks through for New Zealand at Wimbledon](https://www.portugalcolonial.pt/media/shared/articles/ee/f7/6a/Sun-breaks-through-for-New-Zealand--597120.jpg)
Sun breaks through for New Zealand at Wimbledon
Lulu Sun has taken a long, winding road to the Wimbledon last 16, from New Zealand via China, Switzerland, the United States and Slovakia.
On Friday she became the first woman from New Zealand in the Open era and first overall since 1959 to reach the fourth round at the All England Club.
The 23-year-old's tennis journey began in Te Anau on her country's South Island, a peaceful town where the population hovers around the 3,000 mark.
"Practically more sheep and deer than people," she joked after seeing off China's Zhu Lin 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (8/6).
Sun, ranked 123 and having had to qualify to make her Wimbledon debut, has a Chinese mother and a Croatian father. Her stepfather is German-English.
After spending her first months in New Zealand, she and her mother moved briefly to Shanghai before she was raised in Switzerland from the age of five.
Her pursuit of a college education took her to Texas, where she studied international relations.
She now divides her time between the US and Slovakia, the home country of coach Vladimir Platenik.
Sun speaks three languages fluently -- English, French and Chinese -- and likes that she has inherited her family characteristics to take on court.
"Chinese obviously from my mum's side, so very disciplined, hard-working. From my dad's side, Croatian, he's from the seaside, so very laid back and calm. I guess that's a good combo," she said.
"I think also from my mum's side I get that feistiness and competitiveness.
"From New Zealand I get that adventure side come out of me. I'm really happy to be able to have so many cultures and backgrounds with me even though sometimes I'm not 100 percent in each one. It's impossible to be."
Sun caused a sensation in the first round at Wimbledon when she knocked out Chinese eighth seed and Australian Open runner-up Zheng Qinwen.
In the last 16, she will face either Greek ninth seed Maria Sakkari or Britain's former US Open champion Emma Raducanu.
Like Sun, Raducanu also has a Chinese mother.
Win or lose in the fourth round, Sun said she will keep combining tennis with learning. On the to-do list, more language skills.
"I was learning a bit of Spanish. I recently was very interested in learning Japanese, but then I'm now learning Korean because I thought that if I learn the grammar part of Korean, it would be similar to Japanese and that would help," she explained.
"It will be definitely tricky. Sometimes my English doesn't even work. That's what happens when you speak multiple languages."
M.Carneiro--PC