In her first Australian Open trip in January, Zhu Lin of China not only set her new best record of competing in the Grand Slam women's singles matches, but also grew to become a more confident player.

Having defeated Rebecca Marino of Canada, Jil Teichmann of Switzerland and Maria Sakkari of Greece in the first three rounds respectively, Zhu advanced to the Round of 16 at Melbourne Park, where she lost to the tournament's No. 24 seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus on January 22.

Zhu's performances impressed both Sakkari and Azarenka. Sakkari said she was surprised at Zhu's ability to avoid making mistakes during rallies; Azarenka praised Zhu's performance against her as the world's top 20 level.

"I have learnt a lot of good things in the Australian Open this time, including some of the feelings I had never experienced before," Zhu said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency on Monday. "Everyone makes mistakes playing the opponents who have higher world rankings. That's why you must seize the opportunity. Don't assume your opponent must be better than you because she ranks higher. It's always about how you perform in the match."

"My team kept telling me that I am able to make the world's top 50 or even top 30. I was never sure if I should believe that until playing in the Australian Open this time. Now I believe I can reach top 30 or even top 20 in the world," Zhu added.

One of Zhu's nicknames given by Chinese fans is "The Screenwriter" because of her inconsistent performances that often cost her matches she was supposed to win. She had never gone through the women's singles second round in any of the Grand Slam tournaments before the Australian Open this year.

"Of course I know the nickname," Zhu said. "I know fans are just calling me that for fun, but I really gave it some serious thought. Why couldn't I win after I led in those matches? There must be reasons for that. My team and I have done a lot of analysis of both the competitions and myself since then. That's why I could perform well this time."

Zhu will go to Hua Hin, Thailand, next, to compete in the Thailand Open that will begin on January 30.

"When you enter the court, you definitely want to win," Zhu told Xinhua when asked about her goal for the season. "But now I'm thinking about the longer future. The result of one match doesn't decide anything. I will focus on enhancing my stamina and other fronts of my skills. It's a long season that is bigger than one match or one tournament. I hope I can perform in a more consistent way to become a top player."

"I think different people have different ways to grow. I won't be haunted by the thoughts of whether I should grow famous young or become successful at an old age. Everyone has their own path. I may progress slower than others, but I will reach my goal in the end," she added.