前阵为上海ATP1000大师赛写了一组文章
两篇英文稿    一篇专注于赛事    一篇专注于赛场
一篇中文稿    则发在了ATP官方中文网站上 （请点击链接网址阅读）
我是先写英文稿    然后再翻译成中文的    开创了本人网球写作的反向新纪元……

两篇英文文章   将刊发在下个月初的《亚洲华尔街日报》上
老实坦白写作过程——
本人先稿一下   再请我北京一个朋友改一下   最后是上海大师赛请一位澳洲记者润色一下
因此   大家最终看到的定稿    不代表本人的真实英文水平    只代表本人的结构和思路水准……

 

话说我北京的这个哥们儿   以前在我博客里露过一个深沉的背影—— 《沿着中网球星的脚步》
能像他这样把中文文章写得明显比英文文章差的中国人   不多见
他羡慕我中文写得好   我羡慕他英文那么棒   
嗯   我们俩举案齐眉   相互仰慕和吹捧   已经很多年了

 

再说说这位澳洲记者    本人原文标题是《Simply the Best: Not an Easy Task》
他楞是把后面那小半句砍掉了
咳咳    活生生把一篇新闻稿整成了一篇表演稿     功力不凡啊…… 
为了泄愤   他修改后的这篇东西我在此也只贴一半

 

    

The Magnolia is Blooming in Golden October

By Bendou Zhang

 

As the city flower, the magnolia can be seen in every corner of Shanghai. If you know enough about botany, especially this specific plant, you understand it usually takes five years for a magnolia to grow from seed to blossom.

 

You got to wonder of a bit of feng shui has come into being as it’s taken exactly five years for the most famous “magnolia” in Shanghai to grow up and provide a greater number of blossoms.

 

We speak of course about Qi Zhong Stadium. Its retractable eight-piece “magnolia roof” has played host to so many exciting tennis matches played under it during the previous four years and, which in turn, made it a focal point among the world’s tennis facilities.

 

However, except for post-match presentation ceremonies, the stadium’s retractable roof was never opened for play during the Tennis Masters Cup from 2005 to 2008.

 

From this year on, the tennis world sees a change as Shanghai hosts the inaugural Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 resented by Rolex. The tournament will be played as an outdoor event and that means the roof will remain open unless bad weathers intervenes.

 

Building roofs for center courts has somehow become a common place for major tennis tournaments, but the magnolia-shaped retractable roof still stands out as one of the most beautiful and well-functioned roofs in the world of tennis.

 

Few would argue the multi-million pound new roof above Wimbledon’s Center Court is one of the finest of its kind, but well-respected tennis correspondent of The Times Neil Harman had no hesitation in comparing the new Wimbledon roof to the one in 17,000 kms away.

 

Following the recent grand opening ceremony at Wimbledon he wrote: “Compared with any other tennis stadium roof, only the famous eight petals of the Qi Zhong Stadium in Shanghai comes close to aesthetic similarity.”

 

If visiting Qi Zhong Tennis Center in mid-October, you will find fascinating features not limited only to the roof.

 

Charles Smith, an ATP Council Member and Managing Director of Shanghai Juss Event International Division said: “We are building a site to accommodate a much bigger tournament. The original site was built to accommodate a big event, but for the Tennis Masters Cup we really just needed a center court. With most of the infrastructure being there, we constructed several new stadiums and courts, including a Grandstand Court with a seating capacity of 5,000 and a third smaller show court with about 2,000 seats. ”

 

In addition to the three stadium courts, three more field courts will be used, with a fourth one standing by if the event needs it. The added courts will certainly enhance the fan experience with opportunities to get closer to players.

 

Even practice sessions for the top players could be an exciting experience for loyal fans this year.

 

“When Roger Federer or Rafeal Nadal practice on the field courts, there could be hundreds or even thousands of fans watching,” Smith suggested. “For tennis players that’s a great feeling to see so many fans, while for tennis fans a lot could be learnt watching them practice and catching some interesting details you might not necessarily see in their matches.”

 

A bigger event receives more players, sees more matches and thus needs more show courts to host them. The Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 presented by Rolex has expanded every area of its facilities; the players’ locker rooms, gyms, lounge areas, restaurants and other public service installations.

 

“We work hard to meet the needs of six groups, which include government, players, fans, sponsors, media and volunteers. We have special programs for each group, because every group needs different things.” Smith said.

 

“With the Tennis Masters Cup we had become one of the best attended events in Asia and we want to outdo those figures; a perfect day would be to see 22,000 spectators, but it does takes time to get a loyal ticket base.”

 

The surface for the tournament is Deco Turf, which is used at the U.S. Open. Hard courts are generally similar around the world, and the only noticeable difference would be the speed which is adjusted by the composition and quantity of the material used.

 

So what kind of speed has Shanghai chosen? “We choose the surface speed best for the public,” Smith said.

 

“Players will have their views, and ten players maybe have ten opinions. But the point is, we don’t want it too quick so fans don’t see enough because that can get boring, but we also don’t want to make it so slow to alter the players playing style.”

 

No matter the court speed, one thing is for sure and that’s the color will be a little special. The tournament not only resurfaces its courts, but also re-colors them in a blue known as ‘Shanghai Masters’. It’s Shanghai’s own color and a little different from other ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events played on hard court.

 

The surface color is another way to have the Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 presented by Rolex stand out from other such tournaments.

 

Leon Sun, the co-tournament director said confidently: “We have the best stadium among ATP Masters 1000 events, the tournament directors in Miami and Indian Wells both came to Shanghai, I believe they certainly of that opinion. I heard the new stadium in Madrid is quite impressive, I haven’t seen it yet but I maintain our facility is so unique and attention grabing.”

 

So are we going to see the magnolia roof closed this year? October is the best season in the south of China, as the weather is usually dry and cool, just perfect for outdoor tennis. But if need be the option is there to be able to close the roof. Anyway, the tournament has connections with Shanghai Hongqiao Airport to receive updated weather reports.

 

Charles Smith knows about the giant magnolia roof very well as he has helped plant the seed, nurture it and see it grow up.

 

He had a major say in project managing the construction of Qi Zhong Stadium and for which he received the highly prestigious “Magnolia Silver Award” from the Shanghai Municipal Government in 2006 to honor his outstanding contributions to the social, cultural and economic development of Shanghai in the areas of sports and entertainment.

 

Michael Luevano, the co-tournament director of Shanghai ATP Masters 1000, was also a Magnolia Award recipient in 2005. The awards are not only in recognition of their personal contributions to the city, but also highlight the important role the Tennis Masters Cup and Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 presented by Rolex have played in transforming the ever developing international financial center.

 

Chinese people like to see October as the “golden month,” which represents harvest and joy, so bearing that in mind there really can’t be a better timing for the biggest and most famous magnolia in Shanghai to blossom.

 

 

Simply the Best

By Bendou Zhang

 

It would be very fair to say that when music legend Tina Turner belted out her smash hit song “Simply the Best” the thought of one of the world’s biggest tennis tournaments was not quite in her mind. But when you read the lyrics you see that it’s a perfect fit for a tournament like the Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 presented by Rolex.

 

I mean how appropriate is this? “You're simply the best, better than all the rest, Better than anyone, anyone I've ever met”

 

The Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 presented by Rolex is aiming for one thing and one thing only … perfection! To be the best event on the ATP World Tour, a tour that takes in more than 60 tournaments in over 30 countries. Certainly it’s a big challenge to pursue but there is no doubt in the minds of anyone involved with the tournament that it won’t be anything but “Simply the Best”.

 

In one sense it is a new tournament on the year-long calendar but in another way of thinking it is well established because the experience behind the event is immense. Co-tournament Directors Leon Sun and Michael Luevano along with their partner Charles Humphrey Smith have been at the forefront of tennis in Shanghai.

 

They were there at the very first Heineken Open which now seems a lifetime ago. In those days Shanghai was an adventure for most of the players and anyone coming to the tournament. There was an element of mysticism about it all but the job they did saw the event being voted by the players as the “Best Inaugural Tournament of the Year”.

 

They had set themselves a standard and the word “best” became familiar to them. Soon after, it was named “ATP International Series Tournament of the Year”. Tennis in Shanghai was well and truly on the map. More players were finding their way to Asia’s future city and they were having the best time.

 

“There is amazing tennis history here in Shanghai and what has been achieved has proven to be the best,” Michael Luevano said. “In merely a decade, Shanghai has gone from hosting an International Series event to the Tennis Masters Cup five times to this year hosting the inaugural Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 presented by Rolex.

 

“Leon, Charles and I believe we have a team that is simply the best. It has been that incredible team effort which has resulted in the ATP World Tour sanctioning the new Masters 1000 tournament at Qi Zhong Stadium, a facility we believe to be simply the best in the world.

 

“This is a tournament that is not on ‘loan’ like the Tennis Masters Cup was; this tournament is owned and hosted by the city and will be for a very long time to come.

 

“Like anything in China, we have leap-frogged in years. It’s nothing new and we just need to continue that trend and we are very comfortable with that.”

 

The tournament considered many possible themes that could be linked with it but when the organizing committee sat down to discuss what would be the best fit, it didn’t take long to settle on the slogan “Simply the Best”. The goal is to be named “Tournament of the Year” within the first three years. That’s how confident the three men feel about things.

 

“Besides the world-class facilities, that are very difficult to be bettered, China also has the best tennis fans,” said Leon Sun. “They are very loyal to the sport and their favourite players. They are very passionate about watching the biggest names in the world. The more they see these super stars the more they will appreciate and understand the intricacies and they will express an even greater respect to the traditions and all aspects of tennis, which is just the best of sports.”

 

Luevano echoed those sentiments and added: “We are very ambitions. We won the best tournament of the year when we were in the International Group. We were chosen to stage the Tennis Masters Cup which was also a competition we won, so we are used to winning.

 

“In one sense we are like the new kid on the block with the Masters 1000 but we have the knowhow so we want to be the best in the world and we want to do it in three years. We have actually set a conservative goal.

 

“We are more than excited to get back to a more traditional type of tournament compared to the Tennis Masters Cup format but certainly it also comes with its challenges, challenges that are exciting.”

 

During the five years of the Tennis Masters Cup organizers were catering for “only” eight singles players and eight doubles teams along with the alternates. Now the Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 presented by Rolex has a singles draw seven times bigger. It hosts 56 in singles and 24 doubles teams, and that doesn’t include the qualifying draw.

 

“Shanghai raised the bar with the Tennis Masters Cup but we have a strong and very definite belief that tennis here will take on a new perspective and make a giant leap forward and truly live up to its slogan of ‘simply the best’ with the new event,” said Charles Smith.

One thing the tournament will have that no other event on the regular tour has will be private locker rooms for the top nine seeds with an additional private locker room for the top seeds in the doubles.

 

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