October 18, 2009
Shanghai  Masters Cup   -- Men's Singles Final
There is a man called Nicholay Davydenko of Russia who is a very very happy man today at 730pm.  He won the Finals of Master Cup for Men's Single.   His opponent is none other than the formidable Rapael Nadal of Spain.  Since as you know, I am trying to learn to speak Spanish, I was routing for Nadal.  But I must admit Davydenko played a fantastic game. 
Fantastic?  Yes, because the skills of these professionals are truly awesome. And when you go to such a high level game, even if you do not play tennis,(like me) you can enjoy watching it.  

That is what is great about some sports.  The winners and losers DESERVE to be either.  The scores do not lie.  This kind of game is difficult.  It requires physical stamina and highly toned skills. Winners in football, basketball, running, swimming, F-1, for example, are indisputable for the same reason.  The score tells it all. Or if you are the first to reach the goal.   Right after the game, the winner is under bright spot light, whereas the loser does not have any light. All the cameras are on the winner, most interviews are done with the winner.   It is SOOOO quick, even though the loser today is the great Nadal. 
 
Some sports are sort of very subjective.  Take for example gymnastics.  some judges may not like certain competing individual  for whatever reason, personal or other wise, will give lower scores. 
My host and hostess today are the very handsome Guy and his beautiful wife Kinga Hutchison. I met Kinga throught the Shanghai Film Festival.  She was our coordinator for India. Guy is the GM of the Hilton Hotel.  They are great host and hostess.  Here is a picture of me with Guy,   and my friend from Milan Lizzette De Ponce and Kinga.

Today we were at  the Hilton skybox.  It was luxurious with a lot of food, and located right over the walkway where the players come into the court.
Also there at the game as their guest is the head of C-trip Alfred Chang 张敏，Linda and Paolo Gaspparini,盖保罗 head of LOreal, the brilliant man that has made LOreal into a big company in China today. ( Oh, he has just been awarded the most distinguished Italian resident of Shanghai!) 

A lot of people attended this game today.  Even our mayor han zhen was there.  My friends 许智伟 and his wife 周东蕾 were there too.

A few other observations:  tennis is still not as popular as golf in China. I notice that a lot of lao wai came, chinese though a lot, still is comparatively small in absolute number. 
Even though the Master Cup is the biggest in China, and this game for men's single final is the most sort after game in other Opens, our stadium is not really full (see picture).  there are a lot of empty seats. It is surprising.   The same game if played in the US Open, you will never see an empty seat.  And the tickets are really expensive if you can even get one.

And finally, one thing great about attending these events in China is that our stadiums here are all very  new.  This tennis stadium is practically brand new with all the state of the art equipments.  such a nice environment to enjoy the game.  The only thing which is a pity is that the PA system is not good, because I could hardly hear anything the announcer was saying. 
 

YS