Novak Djokovic (left) insisted Sunday that he plans "to compete and play next season" despite suffering another loss at the hands of world No 1 Jannik Sinner (right) at the Rolex Shanghai Masters final on Sunday. [Photo/Agencies]
With the changing of the guard in men's tennis recognized and applauded, among many other tournament highlights, the Rolex Shanghai Masters celebrated a memorable edition with success both on and off the court.
Capped by a sold-out singles final won by world No 1 Jannik Sinner against 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic on Sunday, this year's Rolex Shanghai Masters served up a beyond-expectation treat as Asia's only top-flight ATP1000 tournament with tennis performed by the world's best at the highest level and a variety of fun activities enjoyed by every participant, young and old, from home and abroad.
By outplaying the tournament's four-time winner Djokovic in a commanding straight-sets win, Italy's red-hot Sinner lifted his world-leading seventh trophy this season on the ATP Tour, cheered on by Swiss icon Roger Federer as a guest from the stands, while denying the Serb's attempt to add a monumental 100th career singles title in his return to China following a five-year hiatus.
The clash between the past and present kings — Djokovic had topped the world rankings for an all-time record of 428 weeks — suggests that men's tennis is ushering in a new era with surging youngsters like Sinner and Spain's Carlos Alcaraz reigning supreme. This brings the curtain down on decades of dominance by the "Big Three" of Djokovic, Federer and Spanish great Rafael Nadal, who announced his retirement last week.
The rise of homegrown talent, though, stole the show in Shanghai, where a record number of five Chinese mainland players competed in the singles main draw, the most ever seen at any Tour-level tournament in history.
Two of them made it into the second round, while 2017 US Open boys' winner Wu Yibing achieved a career-best performance by reaching the third round, only to be stopped by four-time Grand Slam winner Alcaraz.
Drawn by a glittering cast of legends on and off the court, fervent Chinese fans have left even the most sought-after stars worldwide amazed by the level of support and admiration they enjoyed over the past fortnight in Shanghai.
Despite of mid-tournament rain delays over two days, the Shanghai Masters set a new attendance record of more than 228,000 this year, while also achieving all-time high revenues from sponsorship, ticketing and merchandising.
Djokovic, the fan favorite among all international stars, hailed their support as an extra motivation for him to fight all the way into the final in his first tournament since the US Open.
"It's always special," the 37-year-old, who's collected 40 ATP1000 titles in his career, said of the enthusiastic support he received in Shanghai.
"In China, it feels like a destiny to fight for a 100th title here in a place where I've had great success in the past, where I have tremendous support.
"The atmosphere was electric, people were really backing me all the way through. So, yeah, it's great to play in such atmosphere and just gets me going and motivates me to push even harder."
To add on this year's starry attraction, the return of Federer in an ambassadorial role, officially recognized as "Icon Athlete" last year, during a light-hearted exhibition doubles match, which also featured China's table tennis Olympic champion Fan Zhendong, men's tennis ace Zhang Zhizhen and pop singer Eason Chan, left a capacity crowd at the stadium court cheering and smiling on the edge of their seats on Friday.
From left: Pop singer Eason Chan, tennis legend Roger Federer, table tennis star Fan Zhendong and tennis player Zhang Zhizhen enjoy a fun moment during an exhibition doubles match at the Rolex Shanghai Masters on Friday. REUTERS
With the bar raised high, organizers are already planning the next few moves to further elevate experiences at the tournament with major venue renovations, more flexible ticketing policy and better spectator service among many improvements to make.
"The turnout this year well exceeded our expectations, thanks to the booming tennis market in China," said Yang Yibin, chairman of Shanghai Juss Sports Development Group, organizer and promoter of the Shanghai tournament.
"Bigger crowds and wider coverage of broadcasting help enhance the tournament's appeal, bringing in more sponsorship revenues that would contribute to greater investment in more development projects of the tournament.
"We've built such a healthy and consistent business pattern that empowers us to constantly improve the quality and service of the tournament for sustainable success," said Yang.
The tournament will add retractable roofs on two more courts, build a bigger show court with 1,000 seats to accommodate star players' practice sessions and organize more international junior events, among many other projects, in the near future, according to Yang.
Michael Luevano, the tournament director, couldn't have been more delighted as he considered the event's overall success.
"With most successful tournaments, you know, you want to innovate, you want to deliver more," said Luevano.
"We do have some ideas, but, like anything, you have to get the basics right. You have to make sure that the players, the stakeholders, are well looked after, and you build the loyalty with them first. The fan experience, we need to improve and always innovate."
