MATCH POINT
Tennis and timekeeping make for perfect partners at the Rolex Shanghai Masters. Tama Lung checks out this year’s tournament
The atmosphere at Shanghai’s Qizhong Tennis Centre was electric: defending champion Roger Federer was facing 22-year-old Daniil Medvedev – a 1.98m-tall Russian currently ranked 17 in the world – in his first appearance at the 2018 Rolex Shanghai Masters. After winning the first set 6-4, Federer seemed to be comfortably in control. But Medvedev roared back to take the second set 6-4, and the stadium erupted in red as entire sections of Federer fans held up signs and chanted: “Allez, Roger! Allez, Roger!”
Federer would go on to win the match after a tight third set, much to the relief of the crowd and the main tournament sponsor – which also counts the Swiss player among its Testimonees.
Thanks in no small part to his record 20 Grand Slam singles titles and 30 Grand Slam finals appearances, the 37-year-old tennis champ was clearly the top attraction in Shanghai. Now the most prominent men’s tennis event in Asia, the Rolex Shanghai Masters began as a small professional tournament in 1996 and was established as the main regional event of the ATP World Tour calendar in 2009. Rolex came in as title sponsor that same year, four years after the completion of the Qizhong Tennis Centre and its unique magnolia-shaped stadium, which accommodates 15,000 spectators.
“In 1998, we brought in Heineken as the title sponsor, so the event was known back then as the Heineken Open, and I think our prize money was US$400,000,” said tournament director Michael Luevano while introducing this year’s event, held from October 6 to 14. “Now, the Rolex Shanghai Masters’ total commitment to the players is US$9.2 million. It’s China! We grow and we are ambitious. And the addition of Rolex took us to a new level.”
The Swiss watchmaker has been a longtime supporter of tennis, partnering with Wimbledon since 1978 and the Australian Open since 2008, as well as sponsoring the Davis Cup since 2007. Just last month, Rolex was announced as a Premium Partner and the Official Timekeeper for the Roland-Garros tournament in Paris in 2019. The brand has partnered with Federer since 2012, when the tennis star won his seventh Wimbledon singles championship and wore a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Platinum for the trophy presentation. Other tennis-world Testimonees include Juan Martín del Potro, Angelique Kerber, Milos Raonic, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Caroline Wozniacki. Legendary players Björn Borg, Chris Evert, Rod Laver and Li Na are also close friends of the brand.
Rolex’s affinity for sports can be traced back to founder Hans Wilsdorf’s determination to create wristwatches suitable for active lifestyles, as evidenced by the invention of the world’s first waterproof watch – the Rolex Oyster – in 1926. The following year, Wilsdorf equipped Mercedes Gleitze with an Oyster for her 10-hour swim across the English Channel, and the company’s association with athletes and astounding achievement has continued ever since.
Federer’s ties to the Rolex Shanghai Masters actually predate those of the title sponsor. “He qualified for the Tennis Masters Cup for the first time in 2002, and I think at that time, he fell in love with China and the city of Shanghai,” Luevano explained. “In 2004, we invited him and his wife Mirka to come and open the Qizhong stadium and he agreed. He came, he opened the stadium and from that point on, he believes Shanghai is his city. This is his tennis centre. He’s committed to the city and the tournament.”
Considering the sea of fans in the colours of the Swiss flag, the city is equally committed to Federer. “You very rarely get a chance to see a group of guys getting together like this … I don’t know, a hundred, and a few rows up, holding up massive banners,” he said when asked about the support.
“I feel like that’s very unique here in Shanghai. People here devote their time and creativity, almost like football fans, and they’re all there together to support me. So I appreciate that they take the time to think of me also when I’m not here in Shanghai, and when I do show up, they’re so excited and so happy, and that obviously gives me a lift, a big one. I can’t thank them enough.”