BEIJING — It will be a milestone match for Chinese tennis, but 133rd-ranked wild card Zheng Jie isn't cowed by her opponent in the Wimbledon semifinals — eight-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams.

"Anything is possible. We shouldn't be scared by big names," China women's head coach Jiang Hongwei was quoted as saying in an interview published Wednesday by news portal sina.com.

Zheng became the first Chinese to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament, with a 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 win over Nicole Vaidisova on Tuesday. Jiang pointed to Zheng's mental toughness and determination in "changing the history of Wimbledon."

"Even if Zheng Jie can't win," Jiang said about Thursday's match against Williams, "at least Zheng'll surprise her."

Headlines in China heralded Zheng's success at Wimbledon and said it was historic for the world's most populous country, where tennis' popularity is dwarfed by pingpong, football and basketball.

"Zheng makes history," the English-language China Daily proclaimed. Xinhua News Agency referred to the 24-year-old as "the remarkable Zheng Jie." Her hometown Chengdu Business Daily called the win a "Chengdu power break-out."

Chinese sports officials said Zheng's accomplishment was a shot of confidence for Chinese athletes ahead of the Beijing Olympics, which begin in just over a month.

"The victory shows our players that if you can adjust your mentality and approach the game calmly, forcing your opponent to make mistakes, then you can make a miracle happen," Gao Shenyang, deputy director of China's national tennis center, was quoted as saying by sina.com.

Zheng and Williams have only met once before, with the American winning in straight sets in the first round at Wimbledon in 2004.