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World-class field ready to court on roof-top terrace
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THE 2014 World Squash China Open is being held at a new arena — the roof terrace of a five-star hotel on the Bund, and not surprisingly it comes with a splendid view of Shanghai.
The event, ongoing at the Peninsula Shanghai and SECA Academy Center in Pudong, will culminate on Sunday.
The US$88,000 men’s category is a PSA Tour event gathering 28 players, four of whom are among the world’s top 10. The women’s tournament, with US$58,000 in prize money, has attracted six of the world’s top-10 players, organizers said.
Former world No. 1 James Willstrop is the top men’s seed.
“I’m excited about the court we have for the final-stage matches, which has really turned the event into a ‘high-level’ one,” the Briton said.
Currently sixth in the PSA ranking, Willstrop will take on Chinese wildcard Wang Junjie in the first round tomorrow.
Wang, a 22-year-old Hunan Province native, played badminton for 10 years before switching to squash six years ago. He is a member of the Chinese national team, and will represent the country at the Asian Games in South Korea later this month.
“I have watched match videos of my opponent. I’ll focus mainly on giving all that I have, and take this opportunity to learn from world class players,” Wang said.
Other top men include India’s Saurav Ghosal, Spaniard Borja Golan and Peter Baker of England. Among the elite women taking part are world No. 5 Camille Serme of France, England’s Alison Waters, as well as 2012 China Open champion Low Wee Wern of Malaysia. Local favorite Gu Jinyue will challenge Jenny Duncalf of England in the first round.
The wildcard rounds, preliminary and a few quarterfinal games are being held at the SECA Academy Center in Pudong, while the quarterfinals between seeded players, the semifinals and the finals will be played on the 11th-floor roof terrace of the Peninsula Shanghai against a backdrop of lit-up skyscrapers in Lujiazui, Pudong.
The court is lined by a glass wall to allow spectators to see the game at close range. However, the players will not see the audience and won’t feel distracted thanks to a special coating on the glass.
Only 110 seats will be set up around the court, Li Sheng, CEO of co-organizer SECA, said.
The coming weekend features the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival, during which, the organizers hope a full moon will be the icing on the cake for the roof games, weather permitting.
Tickets for the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals of the 2014 World Squash China Open are available at www.idealshanghai.com/goods/1757/ at 20 percent discount.
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