Hard work pays off as ATP Masters judged the best
March 27, 2010, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE 2009 Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 tennis tournament, held in Minhang District, has won the competition's Tournament of the Year in its inaugural year as judged by the world's top men players.
The competition is the highest ranked of all ATP tours behind the four grand slams. It was originally held in nine locations: Indian Wells, Miami, Rome, Madrid, Monte Carlo, Canada (Montreal and Toronto in turn), Cincinnati, Hamburg and Paris.
The event champion is eligible to win 1,000 points on the ATP ranking system, and the Top 20 players on the ATP's list are compelled by rules to participate.
From 2009, Shanghai took over Hamburg's slot on the schedule and the Top 20 engagement rule was cancelled for Monte Carlo but the 1,000 points award system remained. So the tournament became an 8+1 system.
The ATP award won by Shanghai is deemed on votes from all ATP players and is generally won by more traditional events. As the only ATP 1000 Masters in Asia, it was a big surprise for Shanghai to win ahead of European and American locations which have a long history, some over 100 years.
It reflects not only on Shanghai's good management and services, but also its high standing in players' minds.
"Congratulations to the tour director and all the staff," said the ATP 1000 Shanghai 2009 champion Nikolay Davydenko on learning the tournament won the award for best event.
"Last year I spent a wonderful week with all the other players in Shanghai. The event organizers were very friendly to us, and I'm happy for them," he said in immediately delivering congratulations.
First try, best try. To make this grand international event a perfect success, Minhang devoted its best facilities and services.
The event takes place at Shanghai Qizhong Forest Sports City Tennis Center in Minhang District. It was built as an international sports event center and represents iconic development on the outskirts of Shanghai city.
Built on a 15-hectare site with 25 courts, it has been planned to rival world-class tennis facilities like Wimbledon in London and Roland Garros in Paris, There's one central court with 15,000 seats, a No. 2 pavilion with 5,000 seats and a No. 3 pavilion with 2,000 seats.
A movable roof system for the main stadium was also incorporated, the first in sports stadiums in China. As the Shanghai city flower is the white magnolia, the designers shaped the main stadium like the flower.
Apart from a great stadium, professional services are also a key part of a perfect sports event. As a high-end international sports event, the ATP 1000 Shanghai has more games than the Shanghai Masters Cup, which means greater pressure on logistical support systems.
To ensure everything's going right, Minhang government has allocated a professional and efficient service team.
About 300 city workers clear up waste of about 20 tons everyday; all the restaurants are supervised by monitors throughout the event to ensure zero food accidents; a professional medical team has tended 112 patients at the stadium; 4,230 district police shifts and 30 firemen prevented any problems.
For many patrons, parking the car can be a tough challenge when it comes to attending major sporting events. But in ATP 1000 Shanghai 2009, it was not a problem anymore -- the organizer added 500 more parking spots to the original 1,000 VIP parking areas at the stadium.
At the same time, free buses were provided from the parking zone to the stadium to keep patrons within a 30-minute walk of the center.
The weather always plays an important role in tennis games. To offer accurate and timely weather information, the district weather bureau stationed a permanent monitor outside the stadium. If there was a change in the weather, such as rain, all members of the audience inside the stadium were informed within 15 minutes.
Even with food services, there were strict rules applied -- for example with the temperature. All hot dishes had to be served above 65 degrees Celsius and for cold dishes the temperature had to be under 10 degrees Celsius.
Apart from meticulous preparation, the organizers monitored patrons' opinions during the event to make sure satisfaction levels stayed high.
At ATP 1000 Shanghai 2009, there was a special team of 60 people whose only job was to collect advice and criticism from the paying public.
For example, on the first day some customers complained that there was no charger for cell phones inside the stadium. The next day chargers were installed.
When some foreign fans said there was no facility to exchange foreign currencies for yuan, the organizing committee responded immediately so that people could get yuan with a foreign currency card in all ATMs in the tennis center.
The competition is the highest ranked of all ATP tours behind the four grand slams. It was originally held in nine locations: Indian Wells, Miami, Rome, Madrid, Monte Carlo, Canada (Montreal and Toronto in turn), Cincinnati, Hamburg and Paris.
The event champion is eligible to win 1,000 points on the ATP ranking system, and the Top 20 players on the ATP's list are compelled by rules to participate.
From 2009, Shanghai took over Hamburg's slot on the schedule and the Top 20 engagement rule was cancelled for Monte Carlo but the 1,000 points award system remained. So the tournament became an 8+1 system.
The ATP award won by Shanghai is deemed on votes from all ATP players and is generally won by more traditional events. As the only ATP 1000 Masters in Asia, it was a big surprise for Shanghai to win ahead of European and American locations which have a long history, some over 100 years.
It reflects not only on Shanghai's good management and services, but also its high standing in players' minds.
"Congratulations to the tour director and all the staff," said the ATP 1000 Shanghai 2009 champion Nikolay Davydenko on learning the tournament won the award for best event.
"Last year I spent a wonderful week with all the other players in Shanghai. The event organizers were very friendly to us, and I'm happy for them," he said in immediately delivering congratulations.
First try, best try. To make this grand international event a perfect success, Minhang devoted its best facilities and services.
The event takes place at Shanghai Qizhong Forest Sports City Tennis Center in Minhang District. It was built as an international sports event center and represents iconic development on the outskirts of Shanghai city.
Built on a 15-hectare site with 25 courts, it has been planned to rival world-class tennis facilities like Wimbledon in London and Roland Garros in Paris, There's one central court with 15,000 seats, a No. 2 pavilion with 5,000 seats and a No. 3 pavilion with 2,000 seats.
A movable roof system for the main stadium was also incorporated, the first in sports stadiums in China. As the Shanghai city flower is the white magnolia, the designers shaped the main stadium like the flower.
Apart from a great stadium, professional services are also a key part of a perfect sports event. As a high-end international sports event, the ATP 1000 Shanghai has more games than the Shanghai Masters Cup, which means greater pressure on logistical support systems.
To ensure everything's going right, Minhang government has allocated a professional and efficient service team.
About 300 city workers clear up waste of about 20 tons everyday; all the restaurants are supervised by monitors throughout the event to ensure zero food accidents; a professional medical team has tended 112 patients at the stadium; 4,230 district police shifts and 30 firemen prevented any problems.
For many patrons, parking the car can be a tough challenge when it comes to attending major sporting events. But in ATP 1000 Shanghai 2009, it was not a problem anymore -- the organizer added 500 more parking spots to the original 1,000 VIP parking areas at the stadium.
At the same time, free buses were provided from the parking zone to the stadium to keep patrons within a 30-minute walk of the center.
The weather always plays an important role in tennis games. To offer accurate and timely weather information, the district weather bureau stationed a permanent monitor outside the stadium. If there was a change in the weather, such as rain, all members of the audience inside the stadium were informed within 15 minutes.
Even with food services, there were strict rules applied -- for example with the temperature. All hot dishes had to be served above 65 degrees Celsius and for cold dishes the temperature had to be under 10 degrees Celsius.
Apart from meticulous preparation, the organizers monitored patrons' opinions during the event to make sure satisfaction levels stayed high.
At ATP 1000 Shanghai 2009, there was a special team of 60 people whose only job was to collect advice and criticism from the paying public.
For example, on the first day some customers complained that there was no charger for cell phones inside the stadium. The next day chargers were installed.
When some foreign fans said there was no facility to exchange foreign currencies for yuan, the organizing committee responded immediately so that people could get yuan with a foreign currency card in all ATMs in the tennis center.
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