China Daily Global Edition (USA)
China’s aces face best of the rest
The Shanghai Rolex Masters represents a rare opportunity for China’s homegrown talents to gauge their game against the world’s best.
As the eighth of nine Association of Tennis Professionals 1000 tournaments, the Oct 6-14 event at Shanghai’s Qizhong Tennis Center boasts a deep field in its 64-seed singles main draw, including Swiss great Roger Federer, 14-time major winner Novak Djokovic of Serbia and world No 4 Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, competing for a prize pool of $7.6 million along with the winner’s 1,000 ranking points.
Tournament organizers announced on Wednesday that three out of four wild cards will go to local aces Wu Yibing, Zhang Ze and Li Zhe, with the last one offered to former world No 3 Stan Wawrinka, who has struggled to recover from a 2017 knee surgery.
“This is a truly distinct year for Asia’s only ATP Masters 1000,” said tournament director Michael Luevano. “This event has truly been a star for tennis in the Far East. We are excited for this year’s championship and eagerly look forward to the next decade as we continue to help grow this great sport in the region.”
Established in 2009 to succeed the previous ATP yearend championships, the Shanghai tournament has provided a big boost to Chinese tennis while serving as a stepping stone for homegrown hopefuls to elevate their game.
Wu, winner of last year’s US Open boys’ tournament, looks set to prove his caliber on the pro stage at the same venue where he won his first entrylevel ATP Challenger tournament last fall following his impressive run in New York.
Veteran Li, who beat the 18-year-old Wu in the second round en route to the semifinals at this year’s Shanghai challenger, expects to maintain his winning form, while Zhang, China’s current top ace at world No 220, is on a roll after winning the ATP Challenger in Chengdu in August.
Always a fan favorite since his debut Shanghai outing in 2002 at the then year-end event, 20-time Grand Slam singles champion Federer is playing an ambassadorial role for the tournament and sang a birthday song in Chinese in an earlier promotional video to celebrate the event’s 10-year anniversary.
Luevano said in an interview with Tennis World that Federer’s phenomenal popularity in Shanghai is understandable.
“All of his sponsors are involved with us as well,” he said. “I really think that he feels Shanghai is his tournament. He helped make it successful, he opened the marketplace, so first of all he is enjoying himself, as well as being able to compete and win here.”
Fellow headliner Djokovic, who has rebounded from an elbow injury to add two more major trophies at Wimbledon and the US Open this season, will be trying to add a fourth title in Shanghai after victories in 2012, 2013 and 2015.
The withdrawal of current world No 1 Rafa Nadal due to a knee injury has further opened the field.
To mark the tournament’s 10th anniversary, organizers have launched “Master Training Camp”, “Super FAN” and other value-for-money ticketing options. All tickets for the last three days of the competition are sold out.