ATP Tennis Masters Cup: Who's it going to be in Shanghai?
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by Mikehayes19
Pete Bodo, of Tennis.com, writes: “The top players, with the exception of those involved in Davis Cup or in a close race to qualify for the Shanghai Tennis Masters Cup, throw the kill switch after the U.S. Open. It’s an open secret.” (see It’s Plug-Pulling Time on ESPN.com’s tennis blog).
I came across this article while poking around on Google News to see if Andy Roddick had withdrawn yet officially from the Madrid Masters yet.
If there was any doubt who might have a vested interest in the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai in November, which will pit the top-8 players in the World against each other. The list goes like this:
•1.) Roger Federer
•2.) Rafael Nadal
•3.) Novak Djokovic
All in.
And if qualifying ended today, the rest of the field would read:
•4.) Nikolay Davydenko
•5.) Andy Roddick
•6.) David Ferrer
•7.) Fernando Gonzalez
•8.) Tommy Robredo
With the field of participants looking slim for the last two ATP Masters Series events (Madrid, Oct. 15; Paris, Oct. 29) before Shanghai, the best clue for who exactly we can expect to see at the final tournament might be this marketing initiative by the ATP. Something I’ve been circulating for the last few weeks:
Shanghai , China – The ATP, governing body of the men’s professional tennis circuit, has commissioned a sculptor to create Terracotta Warriors of the best eight tennis players in the world to mark the Tennis Masters Cup, the prestigious circuit ending championship held in Shanghai, China.
The life-size warrior statues will be created by French sculptor Laury Dizengremel in China and will be unveiled all together as a group at the event in Shanghai, which begins on November 11. Players in contention to qualify for the tournament met with the artist at the ATP Masters Series event in Montreal, Canada, where they were measured and photographed ahead of their casting.
Shots of the Federer warrior can be seen here:
http://blogs.usatoday.com/sportsscope/2007/09/new-looks-for-f.html?csp=34
http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=3619139
The sculptor must wait anxiously to see who qualifies before she can complete the other three warriors. All other players in contention were measured for a potential casting. See some photos here:
