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October 6, 2014

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Home » Supplement » Tennis Masters Cup

Djokovic, Nadal, other top players to compete

By Ma Yue | October 6, 2014, Monday | Print Edition

LEADING the elite list will be two-time defending champion Novak Djokovic, who is sitting comfortably atop the ATP world rankings, followed by Rafael Nadal, who has been battling a long injury and was forced to withdraw from the US Open.

The Spaniard made his comeback in Beijing last week and will be vying for the Shanghai Masters title which he has, surprisingly, never won before.

And then there are fan favorites Roger Federer and Andy Murray. A two-time winner in Shanghai, Murray is currently suffering from a dip in form and has slipped behind the big guns into 11th place on ATP’s ranking released in September.

Among others making the trip to Shanghai are some new faces who have battled hard into the list of top 10 players. Among them is Japan’s Kei Nishikori, who became the first Asian man to reach a grand slam singles final at the US Open last month.

Local fans can expect an added bonus with a host of tennis legends making the trip to Qizhong through October 12. They will be there as coaches of some of the top players.

Stefan Edberg works with Federer; Boris Becker with Djokovic; Michael Chang is grooming Nishikori; and Sergi Bruguera trains Richard Gasquet.

Murray, who was previously coached by Ivan Lendl, a partnership that won him two grand slams titles and an Olympic gold medal, is now under the watchful eyes of former French Open champion Amelie Mauresmo.

Marin Cilic is working with fellow Croat and Wimbledon winner Goran Ivanisevic.

In a recent interview with the Sun Sentinel newspaper, Ivanisevic said he always thought the best coaches are ex-tennis players. Former players love and are devoted to the sport, know how to deal with pressure on the court and are familiar with all the practice methods.

Tournament organizers are promising a treat for those making the trip to Qizhong.

“The Shanghai Rolex Masters is one of the best tournaments in the world, a feast to fans and a joyful week for players,” tournament director Michael Luevano said.

He has reasons to feel proud. The Shanghai event has been voted the best ATP 1000 tournament by players for five years. Into its sixth year now, Luevano said the focus is on fans this year.

“We want to enhance the spectator experience starting from this year ... to get the audience involved, interact with players and submerge themselves into the tennis atmosphere,” said Luevano.

This year’s tournament will see a change in schedule — the starting time of the afternoon session has been moved an hour earlier to 1pm, while the evening session will not start before 6:30pm.

“It will give the audience a break in between to enjoy off-court activities, do some shopping, watch other matches on field courts, attend players’ practices, interact with them, or simply enjoy a good leisurely dinner,” said Luevano.

There will be live band performances — from rock to jazz — everyday, as well as in-between acts like the Heineken Live Moment.

With the first four days of this year’s Shanghai Rolex Masters falling during the National Day holiday, tickets have been selling at a faster pace than last year, and Luevano expects bigger crowds as a result.

“We had an average attendance of around 75 to 80 percent (of capacity) last year. The stands were full for the weekend’s semifinal and finals. However, for a tournament at this level our goal is a total attendance of 100,000 people from last year’s 86,000.”

Organizers have come up with package tickets for families in which children will get a chance to play on the court, watched by some star players. Luevano hopes more exposure to tennis will influence parents to support their children’s interest in the sport.

The southern Chinese city of Shenzhen held its inaugural ATP 250 event late last month, followed by the China Open in Beijing, which is an ATP 500 event.

Shanghai Rolex Masters is Asia’s only ATP 1000 event. The three tournaments have already created a China swing that will ensure that players stay in the country for almost a month.

On-site activities

As the exclusive English newspaper media partner, Shanghai Daily has a booth at the Qizhong Tennis Center. Make sure to visit our booth and have fun.

 

• Personalize your
front page

A cardboard cut out of a tennis player will be set up at our booth during the Shanghai Rolex Masters. Everyone is invited to drop by our booth and insert their head in the cut out to take a photo and possibly win a gift bag.

 

• Sharing photos

Take a picture of Shanghai Daily booth and share it on social networking sites like facebook, twitter or WeChat to win a gift bag.

 

• Newspaper promotion

Subscribe to Shanghai Daily during the Shanghai Rolex Masters and receive special gifts.

 

• Souvenir sale

Souvenirs of iDealShanghai will be on sale during the event.

General Schedule

October 6

1pm: Center Court (ATP Singles)
1pm: Grandstand (ATP Singles)
1pm: Field Courts

October 7

1pm: Center Court (ATP Singles)
1pm: Grandstand (ATP Singles)
1pm: Field Courts

October 8

1pm: Center Court (ATP Singles)
1pm: Grandstand (ATP Singles)
1pm: Field Courts

October 9

1pm: Center Court (ATP Singles)
1pm: Grandstand (ATP Singles)
1pm: Field Courts

October 10

1pm: Center Court (ATP Singles)
1pm: Grandstand (Doubles Semifinals #1)

October 11

1pm: Center Court (Doubles Semifinals #2)
4:30pm: Center Court (Singles Semifinals #1)
8pm: Center Court (Singles Semifinals #2)

October 12, 2014

1pm: Center Court (Doubles Final)
4:30pm: Center Court (Singles Final)

Schedules are subject to changes by the organizers.

Tennis Masters Cup


 

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