Novak's 'Ni hao' fuels anticipation for tour's China return

The superstars of tennis are raring to reconnect with their Chinese fans — and the food — as the ATP Tour prepares to make its long-awaited return to China.

With Wimbledon entering its final stages, defending champion Novak Djokovic was among the players already turning his thoughts eastwards.

"Ni hao, xie xie," Djokovic said as he practiced his Mandarin in an interview posted on the ATP's official Weibo account on Thursday, a day before his Wimbledon semifinal against Italy's Jannik Sinner.

"Those are a few phrases that I didn't say for quite a few years," the 23-time major winner added with a grin.

"After quite a few years of absence of the ATP Tour tournaments on the Chinese ground, we are very happy to receive the good news that we are going to have the tournaments on Chinese soil."

With all international events resuming in the post-pandemic era, China will again host the world's best players at cutting-edge facilities at four ATP tournaments — the 250-level Chengdu Open and Zhuhai Championship, both slated from Sept 20-26, the 500-level China Open in Beijing from Sept 28-Oct 4, before the upgraded topflight Rolex Shanghai Masters wraps up the "China Swing" from Oct 4-15.

The tour's four-year hiatus from China has left fans and players extra eager to get the ATP action back underway.

"It's been a while since we all were in China," said former world No 3 Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria. "We always have very fond memories there, embracing the culture a little bit. We all enjoy that and we miss our fans there."

As the biggest men's professional tournament in Asia, the Rolex Shanghai Masters is set to make a spectacular return after being officially relaunched in May as one of five "Super Masters" on the ATP calendar, featuring an expanded 96-player singles draw and taking place over two weeks.

Held at the state-of-the-art Qizhong Tennis Center in Shanghai, the tournament was named "Best ATP 1000 Tournament of the Year "for five years in a row (2009-13).The venue's recently upgraded facilities, services and operations — to elevate it to "super" status — suggest that players and fans can expect an even better experience than previous editions.

Denis Shapovalov, Canada's world No 29, said he cannot wait to visit his favorite spot at the Shanghai tournament again.

"The dining room is always spectacular. It's probably the biggest buffet you'll ever see. It's somewhere I like to spend a lot of time," said the 24-year-old lefty, who played in Shanghai from 2017-19.

Austrian ace Dominic Thiem, winner of the 2020 US Open, enthused about the "biggest gym on the tour" as the Shanghai tourney's best amenity.

Demand for tickets has skyrocketed, with 10 million yuan ($1.4 million) in sales recorded in just five minutes after their release on June 15. Tickets for the semifinals and finals are already sold out.

Chinese fans' growing appreciation for tennis has made the country an appealing destination for the world's top pros.

Shapovalov, for instance, made his China debut in Shanghai in 2017 as an 18-year-old. Six years later, he still fondly remembers the warm reception he received from Chinese fans, particularly for his entertaining style of play.

"It was the first time I hit my jump backhand on the tour, and I did it twice at one point and the crowd went crazy," he recalled of his signature shot during a first-round match against Viktor Troicki of Serbia in 2017.

"The fans are always super energetic there. They all appreciate tennis. Even the practice sessions are super packed. They really follow the players and know everyone. That's always a nice feeling."

Djokovic, a four-time champion in Shanghai and a six-time winner of the China Open in Beijing, revealed that he always returns home from China with extra luggage.

"They are among the most loyal tennis fans we have in the world," said the Serb, who holds the record for most ATP Masters wins — 37 singles titles.

"Every single day, they come out at the front of the hotel giving you presents. You always need to prepare an extra suitcase for all the presents to come back home with …I am very thankful for their love and support."

Homegrown heroes

Now with Chinese players surging up the ATP rankings, fans are looking forward to the opportunity of cheering on homegrown heroes at the tournaments.

Following a series of breakthroughs on hard courts and clay, China's leading men's players, Zhang Zhizhen and Wu Yibing have both cracked the world's top 100 and are hoping home-court advantage this fall can help nudge them into the top 50.

Their rise hasn't escaped the notice of the world's elite performers.

"They are definitely coming up in full force, the rest of the tour should watch out," Australia's world No 17 Alex de Minaur said of the Chinese men.

"It's great whenever you have two or three players in the rankings as we did in Canada with me and Felix (Auger-Aliassime), where you can push each other for results and success," said Shapovalov.

"It's already a big tennis nation. It seems like with all the fans that are so into tennis, for sure I can see a big push in the next few years."

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn