ROLEX MASTERS

SHANGHAI
B1
SUPPLEMENT
ROLEX MASTERS
Monday
8 October
2012
Illustration by Zhou Tao/Shanghai Daily
Top aces ready to fire at Qizhong
Ni Yinbin
C
ompetitors at the Shanghai Rolex Masters,
which is being held at the Qizhong Forest Center City Arena through October 14,
include the top three players in the world rankings — Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy
Murray. The presence of these stars has seen a 30
percent increase in ticket sales.
A favorite with city tennis fans, Federer was one
of the first players to confirm that he would be
playing in Shanghai this year. After missing last
year’s tournament, the Swiss said he wanted to
come back to play in front of Shanghai fans. Winning Wimbledon in July took the 31-year-old’s tally
of Grand Slam titles to 17 and saw him reclaim his
No. 1 spot in the men’s singles world rankings. In
August, Federer won the Cincinnati Masters and
his 21st ATP 1000 title, matching Rafael Nadal’s
record. Now the man considered by many to be
the greatest tennis player of all time has his 22nd
masters title in his sights in Shanghai.
Although Djokovic lost last month’s thrilling US
Open final to Murray, reaching that Grand Slam
final kept the Serb in contention for the No. 1 spot
at the year-end. Earlier in the year, winning the
Australian Open brought Djokovic his fifth Grand
Slam title. Last year, Djokovic missed the Shanghai tour due to injury but the opportunity of closing the ranking gap on Federer will see him fired
up for the Shanghai Rolex Masters. The 25-yearold has seen his popularity grow in China recently
and his Chinese fans will be cheering him on in
Shanghai.
Murray’s big challenge
Third seed and world No. 3 Andy Murray comes
into the Shanghai Masters on a high, as the twotime winner of the event followed up a gold medal
winning performance at the London Olympics this
summer by breaking his Grand Slam duck and
triumphing at the US Open.
The 25-year-old Scot should strengthen his
world No. 3 spot if he performs well in Shanghai.
World No. 4 Nadal will miss the tournament due
to injury.
In addition to the big three, other top ranking players, including David Ferrer, Jo-Wilfried
Tsonga, Tomas Berdych and Juan Del Potro, are
taking part. Ferrer, runner-up of the Shanghai
Rolex Masters last year, seems best-equipped to
cause an upset.
Meanwhile, Australian veteran Lleyton Hewitt
will be competing in the Shanghai tournament
on a wildcard after accepting the invitation of the
organizer. Hewitt won the ATP World Tour Finals
in Shanghai in 2002 after a sensational four-hour
final, beating Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 7-5, 2-6, 2-6,
6-4, and claimed the No. 1 ranking that year. The
Australian said his victory in Shanghai was an
unforgettable episode in his career.
Three Chinese players, Zhang Ze, Wu Di and Li
Zhe, have been granted the other three wildcards.
B2 SHANGHAI ROLEX MASTERS
Monday 8 October 2012 Shanghai Daily
China’s No. 1 and 2 tell their stories
The Shanghai Rolex Masters has announced four wildcards, three of them for China’s leading male players,
Zhang Ze, Wu Di and Li Zhe, who will have the chance to play in the main draw. The fourth wildcard went to
former world No. 1, Australian Lleyton Hewitt, for the tournament through October 14. China’s No. 1 tennis
player Zhang and No. 2 Wu talk about the long hard road they’ve traveled, and the harder one ahead.
Zhang Ze
The 22-year-old is the No. 1 Chinese male
player, ranked at 166 in the world, his career
high. Nicknamed “Big George,” he plays No.
1 in Davis Cup for the country. This is his
third year in the main draw for the Shanghai
Rolex Masters. The last was in 2011.
This year he reached six quarterfinals
at the Challenger level. The Nanjing native
reached that round most recently at Ningbo
and also earlier at the road to the Shanghai
Rolex Masters Challenger, played at Qizhong.
At Tour level, he qualified at Halle and made
the last 16. He also won two and reached the
final of three Futures events.
Zhang started to play tennis when he was
six years old. “The first moment I saw him,
the boy was shouting slogans in the first
row,” recalls Bao Qin, Zhang’s first tennis
teacher who selected him in 1996. “He looked
so unpromising and obstinate. I liked the
boy.”
On the team, Zhang was not the best but
the hardest worker. Since he started to play
tennis late, he put more effort into training than other students. During six years
on Bao’s team, Zhang was always the last to
leave the training field every night.
His efforts paid off. In 2002 Zhang ranked
first in a group of 12-year-old boys in Jiangsu
Province; he also won two medals in a
province-wide sports meets. That year Zhang
joined the Jiangsu Province Tennis Team and
began his career as a professional.
“Everybody liked him because the boy
was simple and honest,” says Li Hui, general
coach of the provincial team. “And he knew
‘no pain no gain’.”
Zhang worked even harder in Jiangsu. They
said he wore out a pair of shoes every two
weeks. In fact he was also an excellent student with good marks. If he hadn’t embarked
on tennis, he could have had a relatively easy
life.
“My family supported my decision to play
tennis just because I said I liked it,” Zhang
says. “If I am lucky, then I’m lucky to have
people standing firmly beside me all these
years. Of course, luck also comes with hard
work.”
Starting 2007, Zhang’s body and skills
matured and he began to win prizes in China
and Asia.
In 2010, he became Chinese champion in
both singles and doubles. He was captain of
China’s Davis Cup Team.
The year 2012 has been a successful one
for Zhang since he became the first Chinese
male player to enter Grand Slam tournaments.
This August, Zhang hit a career-high,
ranking of 166, under the guidance of
Frenchman Guillaume Peyre, former coach
of Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis and Frenchman
Richard Gasquet.
That’s the highest ranking for any Chinese
male tennis player, ever. Next was Pan Bing,
ranked 176 in 1995.
“People don’t know how much effort it
takes to move from ranking 200 to 100,”
Zhang says. “From 166 to 100, it may look
quite close, but I feel it’s still a long way to
go. I’m going to do everything I can to get
closer and closer.”
166
Singles
ranking
A ge : 2
2 (July
4, 199
B ir t h p
0)
lace :
Nanjin
Provin
g
, Jiang
ce
su
Heigh
t : 188
c
m
Weigh
t : 83k
g
Plays
: Righthande
Turne
d
d Pro
: 2005
Coach
: Guilla
ume P
eyre
Shanghai Daily Monday 8 October 2012
SHANGHAI ROLEX MASTERS B3
Hardcourt Heroes
Wu Di
Wu Di, who recently turned
21, is China’s No. 2 tennis
player. He ranks 185 in the
world, his career high. This
will be the Wuhan native’s
second time in the main draw
for the Shanghai Rolex Masters. The first was in 2010.
Wu was a finalist at the Beijing Challenger, a semi-finalist at Challengers in Ningbo
and Karshi, and made the last
16 at the road to the Shanghai
Rolex Masters Challenger.
This year he has played at the
Futures events, winning three
and reaching two other finals.
For Wu, playing tennis is
happiness. “Smile, you look
handsome when you smile.”
That’s what people always tell
Wu.
“I could escape doing homework if I was playing tennis
when I was a small child,” he
says.
Before he was seven years
old, the open sandy playground in front of Zhongshan
Park was where he worked
up a good sweat by playing
tennis.
He says he didn’t show
much tennis talent, so he
hasn’t figured out why coach
Xia Jiaping picked him for
the Shanghai Pudong Tennis
Team in 2003.
“Maybe I was really lucky,”
he says. As a matter of fact,
Wu had been rejected by the
Guangzhou Team several
months before.
On the Shanghai Team, Wu
didn’t do well. Players at his
age were promoted to the first
team, while he remained in
the second team and sometimes played as a practice
partner for female players.
Even with girls, Wu didn’t
have an advantage.
However, his improvement
and growth spurt were astonishing. In 2007 the 16-yearold won his first championship. Then he was selected by
the national youth team and
got a new coach Lu Ling, who
Wu says, changed his life.
Wu began strict and
systematic training on the
youth team and Lu helped
him rebuild and reshape his
technique.
Since the age of 16, Wu
traveled solo to various
international matches, with
little more English than “Yes,”
“No,” “Thank-you” and “Bye.”
Wu says he envies Zhang
because he has parents,
coaches and a team to support him. But Wu is always
alone. Once, he almost got
lost in Los Angeles.
In 2007, Wu got his first
ATP score, ranking 1,461. “I
was excited for a long time
and every day I checked
the ranking on the website
though I knew the ranking
is updated every week,” he
recalls.
The ranking fired up his desire to win. From 1,461 to 300,
down to 500 and back to up
the current 185, Wu is struggling on the ATP journey with
twists and turns.
One thing he is sure of:
he won’t quit. “To be frank,
I didn’t like tennis before.
But one day I was sitting on a
bus, I suddenly realized there
was nothing else I care about,
except tennis.
“When I concentrate
all my thoughts and energy
on the tennis ball in a game,
I find that all my troubles
disappear magically. I can’t
live without tennis.”
(Compiled by
Tan Weiyun)
Roger Federer has the best winning
percentage for hardcourt match wins
in 2012, according to the ATP Reliability
Index, but Novak Djokovic has the most
victories. US Open champion Andy
Murray went 9-1 on the summer North
American swing.
Traffic
The Shanghai Rolex Masters tennis
tournament is being held through October 14 at the Qizhong Forest Sports
City Arena in Minhang District. Direct
shuttle buses will operate during the
tournament. For 2 yuan (32 US cents)
per ride, the non-stop buses will run
to the arena from Xinzhuang Station of
Metro Line 1 and Zhuanqiao Station of
Metro Line 5 from 11am to 7pm. Services from the arena to the two stops
will run between 4pm and 10pm.
In evenings between October 7 and
October 13, fans can also take a dedicated line that directly runs to the Shanghai Indoor Stadium within 30 minutes
after the end of the last match. From
there passengers can catch Metro Line 1
and Line 4.
Parking lots near the arena will be
open for those who plan to drive to the
tournament.
Tips:
• Be on time
Once a match starts, spectators will
only be allowed to enter the stadium at
the end of every third, fifth, seventh and
ninth game, when the players are taking
a break.
185
Singles
ranking
A ge : 2
1 ( Se p
tembe
1991)
r 14,
B ir t h p
lace :
Wuhan
Hubei
,
Provin
ce
Heigh
t : 173c
m
Weigh
t : 66k
g
Plays
: Righthande
d
• Bring soft packaged drinks
To ensure the safety of fans and players,
bottled drinks are not allowed.
• Do not distract the players
To avoid distracting the players, portable televisions, radios, CD players and
computers are not allowed. Please turn
off your cell phone or switch it to silent
mode. Please do not bring infants to the
stadium.
• Do not walk around in the stand
Walking around may distract players,
so spectators should find their seats
and sit down as soon as possible. Do
not walk around during a game.
• Do not use flash photography
Some cameras turn on flash automatically, which may distract the players.
Please make sure you turn off the flash
before taking pictures.
B4-5 SHANGHAI ROLEX MASTERS
Monday 8 October 2012 Shanghai Daily
Novak Djokovic
in semifinals before falling to Nadal
4-6, 3-6, 6-2, 5-7 in his first final on the
Parisian clay.
Top seed at Wimbledon, he lost to
Federer 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 3-6 in the semifinals. Djokovic lost his world No. 1 ranking on July 9. He did not compete again
until the London Olympics.
NO
Djokovic was stopped by No. 11 John
Isner 6-7 (7), 6-3, 6-7 (5) in the semifinals at ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells. But the 25-year-old went
on to clinch his third ATP World Tour
Masters 1000 Miami title, beating Murray 6-1, 7-6(4).
With a 16-4 record on the spring
European clay swing, Djokovic finished runner-up at the ATP World Tour
Masters 1000 events in Monte Carlo and
Rome (losing to Nadal).
At the French Open, he saved four
match points to beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
in the quarterfinals and Roger Federer
K
A
V
IC
V
O
OK
J
D
ACES
Age: 25 (May 22, 1987)
Birthplace: Belgrade,
Serbia
Height: 188cm
Weight: 80kg
Plays: Right-handed
Turned Pro: 2003
Coach: Marian Vajda
Ranking-Singles: 2
OF THE
COURT
Tennis player Novak Djokovic and
his girlfriend Jelena Ristic pose for
photographs at the Laureus World
Sports Awards 2012 in central
London. — Reuters
Age: 31 (August 8, 1981)
Birthplace: Basel,
Switzerland
Height: 185cm
Weight: 85kg
Plays: Right-handed
Turned Pro: 1998
Coach: Paul Annacone
Ranking-Singles: 1
RER
EDE
RF
GE
RO
Novak Djokovic opened his 2012 season by winning a third straight Grand
Slam title at the Australian Open, beating No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal 5-7, 6-4, 6-2,
6-7 (5), 7-5 in the longest major championship match at five hours and 53 minutes. It was his third Australian Open
title, following 2008 and 2011, and his
fifth Grand Slam trophy overall.
In February, Djokovic won the
Laureus World Sportsman of the Year
award at a ceremony in London. He
suffered his first loss of year in Dubai
in the semifinals against Andy Murray
2-6, 5-7 on March 3.
Swiss Roger Federer eyes the
ball as he returns to Thiemo
de Bakker of the Netherlands
during their Davis Cup
singles match in Amsterdam,
Netherlands, on September
14. — AP
Roger Federer
ANDY
M
UR
R
AY
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic reacts after
holding serve in the US Open men’s
singles final against Britain’s Andy
Murray at Flushing Meadows in New
York. — Reuters
Andy Murray
Under the guidance of his new coach,
former world No. 1 Ivan Lendl, Andy Murray
defeated Alexandr Dolgopolov to win his first
title at Brisbane, in the first tournament of
the year. This was Murray’s 22nd ATP World
Tour trophy.
At the Australian Open, the Scot reached his
fifth straight Grand Slam semifinals but lost
to Novak Djokovic in five sets.
Murray undertook a training block in Delray
Beach in Florida before heading to Dubai.
There he beat world No. 1 Djokovic in the semifinals but fell to Roger Federer in the final.
After a first-round exit at the ATP World
Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells, where he was
defeated by Guillermo García-López, Murray
regrouped to reach the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami final. He beat Janko Tipsarevic in the quarterfinals and Rafael Nadal by
walkover in the semifinals but then lost to
Djokovic in the final.
With a 9-4 record on the spring European clay
swing, Murray had a quarterfinal run at Roland
Garros in the French Open, which he lost to David Ferrer. In the ATP World Tour Masters 1000
Monte Carlo, Murray lost to Tomas Berdych, and
in Barcelona to Milos Raonic.
During the grass swing, Murray played at
Queen’s and as fourth seed at Wimbledon
he became the first British man to reach the
final since Bunny Austin in 1938. Murray only
dropped four sets en route to the title match,
but lost to Federer in the final.
Murray did not play again until the London
Olympics, when he became the first British
man to win the singles gold medal since 1908.
Murray beat Federer 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 in the final
for the biggest title of his career at the time.
He also won the mixed doubles silver medal
with Laura Robson, losing to Max Mirnyi and
Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in the final.
At the US Open, on the date Fred Perry won
his first Grand Slam title in 1933, Murray
captured his first major by beating Djokovic
in five sets, ending Britain’s 76-year wait for a
male Grand Slam champion.
British tennis player Andy Murray and
fiance Kim Sears pose as they arrive
for the Burberry Prorsum 2013 spring/
summer collection catwalk show at the
London Fashion Week on September
17. — AFP
Age: 25
(May 15, 1987)
Birthplace:
Dunblane, Scotland
Height: 190cm
Weight: 84kg
Plays: Right-handed
Turned Pro: 2005
Coach: Ivan Lendl
Ranking-Singles: 3
A dog licks home favorite Andy
Murray as the Scot meets with fans in
the center of Dunblane, Scotland, on
September 16. — AP
Roger Federer opened his season at Doha but
pulled out ahead of his semifinal with Jo-Wilfried
Tsonga, which marked only the second time
in his career (at the time 996 matches) he had
withdrawn in the middle of a tournament due to
injury.
The No. 3 seed at Australian Open, Federer fell
to Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. The 31-year-old
played his 1,000th match versus Juan Martín Del
Potro in the quarterfinals.
Representing Switzerland in the Davis Cup
first round against the United States, Federer lost
to John Isner in four sets. But he bounced back
by clinching back-to-back ATP World Tour titles
at Rotterdam, defeating Del Potro, and at Dubai
defeating Andy Murray. It was his fifth title in
Dubai.
At the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 at Indian
Wells in March, he beat Del Potro and Nadal en
route to the final, where he defeated No. 11 Isner
7-6 (7), 6-3. Federer fell to Andy Roddick at the ATP
World Tour Masters 1000 Miami in the third round.
With a 12-3 record on the spring European clay
swing, Federer picked up the ATP World Tour
Masters 1000 Madrid title, beating No. 7 Tomas
Berdych 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 in the final. He later lost to
Novak Djokovic in the ATP World Tour Masters
1000 Rome and Roland Garros in the semifinals.
During the grass swing, Federer finished runner-up to No. 87 Tommy Haas 7-6 (5), 6-4 in the
Halle final. As the third seed at Wimbledon, he
won a record-equalling seventh title, beating No.
1 Djokovic in the semifinals before a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3,
6-4 win over No. 4 Murray in the final. Federer regained the world No. 1 ranking on July 9, when he
qualified for the Barclays ATP World Tour Final.
On July 16, he became No. 1 for the 287th week,
breaking the record held by Pete Sampras.
Federer won a singles silver medal at the London 2012 Olympics, losing to Murray 2-6, 1-6, 4-6
in the final.
On August 19, Federer won his 21st ATP World
Tour Masters 1000 title at Cincinnati, beating No.
2 Djokovic 6-0, 7-6 (7) in the final.
(Compiled by Ni Yinbin)
The wife of Roger Federer,
Mirka Federer, with their
twins, celebrates after Federer
defeated Andy Murray of Britain
in the men’s singles final at the
Wimbledon Tennis Championships
in London. — Reuters
B6 SHANGHAI ROLEX MASTERS
Monday 8 October 2012 Shanghai Daily
Game, set
and snap
Editor’s Note
Shanghai Rolex Masters organizers ran a competition
between August 22 to September 19 to collect photographs
taken during Shanghai tennis events over the past few years.
The 20 winning works were selected from 189 photographs
uploaded to weibo.com. The winning pictures are on display
at Qizhong Forest Center City Arena.
1
3
4
2
1. “My Masters” by Ka Fei Xu Yu Wu
2. “That Year” by Zhiyu Mag1cV
3. “Djokovic” by Daozi0932
4. “Audience” by Basten00777
1
2
4
3
5
1. “Tennis Lovers” by Fei Yang De Sha
2. “Super Fans” by Chao Ji Ying Shi Zi
3. “Cute Fans” by Tete Zheyama Zhenhaisen
4. “Volunteers” by Ying Xiao Pao
5. “Roddick vs Almagro” by Briiiiiiiiii
Shanghai Daily Monday 8 October 2012
SHANGHAI ROLEX MASTERS B7
B8 SHANGHAI ROLEX MASTERS
Monday 8 October 2012 Shanghai Daily