Advanced Search

The story appears on

Page B2

October 7, 2013

GET this page in PDF

Free for subscribers

View shopping cart

Related News

Home » Supplement » Tennis Masters Cup

Fans await big names at Masters event

By Ma Yue | October 7, 2013, Monday | Print Edition

Shanghai ATP 1000 Masters is coming up on its the fifth year, and the event lasts until October 13 at the Qizhong Tennis Center.

World class international events held in the metropolis during the past decade have cultivated a large batch of fans. They have been lucky enough to witness one of the best eras of men’s professional tennis — the Shanghai events are constantly attended by the “Big Four” — Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.

Despite Federer’s recent slippage, he is still the king of the court for lots of tennis followers in Shanghai, who probably first started watching tennis at a time when an in-shape Federer overwhelmingly dominated men’s tennis.

What shall we expect for this year?

First, of course, we want to see if Federer can stabilize his status in one of his favorite cities, and win enough ranking points to ensure a place at the year-end Masters Cup in London. He has won the Masters Cup in Shanghai twice, but not another title since Shanghai hosted the ATP 1000 Masters in 2009.

For the first time, the Swiss ace is going to play in the doubles in Shanghai, and he will be partners with Zhang Ze, a top-ranked Chinese male player.

Zhang is ranked 182nd on the ATP Tour, 12th among Asian players. The 23-year-old Nanjing native, who lists Federer as his idol, said he was thrilled when he first heard about the chance to play with the winner of 17 Grand Slam titles. Asked whether he would make special preparations for the doubles, Zhang sounds excited.

“Of course! I will mainly try to assist him. He is, after all, on a much higher level than we are. I’ll do more practice in front of the net. He will definitely play the main role in our partnership.”

Federer has played in doubles before, as a partner to Marat Safin, Max Mirnyi and Jonas Bjorkman. The former world No. 1 player seems to be exploring some other possibilities in the sport he has long dominated. The Swiss said these types of matches may help men’s tennis develop further in China.

He and Zhang almost faced each other in last year’s Masters event. However, Zhang lost to Lu Yen-hsun of Chinese Taipei in the first round.

Their first doubles game falls on October 7. Organizers said tickets for the day have been selling well — no surprise.

Looking back over the past 10 years, three out of the “Big Four” have been crowned twice in Shanghai, leaving only Nadal a stranger to the top podium at the Qizhong center.

Lleyton Glynn Hewitt won the debut Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai in 2002. Argentine David Nalbandian took the title in 2005. Federer claimed the next two cups in 2006 and 2007. The last Masters Cup held in Shanghai was won by Serbian Djokovic in 2008.

Russian veteran Nikolay Davydenko clinched Shanghai’s first ATP 1000 Masters title in 2009. British player Andy Murray pocketed the next two, in 2010 and 2011. Djokovic was the champion last year, and will come to Shanghai to defend his title.

Currently ranked third in ATP, Murray just became the first Briton since Fred Perry in 1936 to raise a Grand Slam trophy at Wimbledon’s All England Club this summer. However, he is likely to miss the Shanghai event due to surgery on a long-standing back injury.

Djokovic has tons of followers in Shanghai, too, thanks to his talent in electrifying the atmosphere. The world No. 1 won the Australian Open and then set his sights on the French Open, the only Grand Slam title that has eluded him, only to be defeated by “clay-court specialist” and current world No. 2 Nadal in the semifinals. Nadal went on to beat compatriot David Ferrer, who is currently world No. 4, for the title.

The rivals set up a final clash in the US Open later, with the Spaniard taking the edge over Djokovic again.

Last year, when Nadal withdrew from Wimbledon and the Olympic Games, his future was in doubt. Fans wondered whether he would be the same explosive “Rafa” after his knee rehab. After a seven-month absence, he was back, and looked as good as ever, and certainly stands a good chance for his debut title in Shanghai.

Another two players who are very popular are also seeking their first title in Shanghai — the Bryant brothers, the world’s top-ranked men’s pair.

Other names lined up for the Shanghai Masters include Ferrer, of Spain, who has been nicknamed “stable man” by Chinese fans for his comprehensively even, stable techniques and performance, as well as great running ability.

Grigor Dimitrov is probably better known as Maria Sharapova’s boyfriend. The 22-year-old Belgian does have something to present as he surprisingly beat Djokovic in Madrid earlier this year.

Spaniard Tommy Robredo will also come to Shanghai with boosted confidence — he just eliminated Federer in the US Open.

 

Tennis Masters Cup


 

Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

沪公网安备 31010602000204号

Email this to your friend