Federer Teams Up With Ze Zhang

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 8th October 2013

French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros

Federer Teams Up With Ze Zhang

epa03718460 Roger Federer of Switzerland reacts after winning his 1st round match against Pablo Carreno-Busta of Spain at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 26 May 2013. EPA/YOAN VALAT |

No leading player has done more to promote the growth of tennis in Asia than Roger Federer. He has been traveling to compete in the continent for almost a decade and a half, formally opened Shanghai’s Qi Zhong Stadium in 2004 and has done exhibition tours with Pete Sampras in attempt to spread the sport’s frontiers. Now he is actually playing alongside a Chinese in the Shanghai Rolex Masters doubles event.

China is still a long way from emulating the female success Li Na has enjoyed on the women’s circuit with a male player but Ze Zhang, the only man from his nation ever to be ranked inside the world’s top 150 at singles, was invited by Federer to team up on the doubles court.

And the pair did even more to generate interest when they got off to an impressive start with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Kevin Anderson and Dmitry Tursunov. “I thought : ‘What could be really fun, different and cool here in Shanghai’?” said Federer. “This has such great potential here and I love playing here.

“I spoke to my agent Tony [Godsick], and he spoke to the tournament guys, Michael [Luevano] and Charlie [Charles H. Smith]. They mentioned what about if you play with a Chinese player. Especially as Zhang Ze is coming up, he’s really good. I said: ‘that’s perfect for me’ and I was excited about the idea right away.

“Then when I arrived here, they announced we were going to play doubles together, there was huge excitement. They were going to put us on center court on Monday. I thought, that’s great, that’s good for the game, good for tennis here in China.

“That’s kind of the ultimate goal, to partner up with a Chinese up-and-coming player and promote the game at the same time.”

And Zhang Ze, or Big George as he is known in player circles, was thrilled with the outcome. “Over the past few days, Roger and I practiced together,” he said. “He actually invited me to practice with him. He is easy-going, he’s nice, and fun. So we had very good communications. Then, of course, I learned a lot from him, not just the playing skills, but also the professionalism. I think I can be more professional.”

Topics: 10sballs, Li Na, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer, Shanghai, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News

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jonathan_geary says:

October 8, 2013 at 7:53 am

RT @10sBalls_com: Federer Teams Up With Ze Zhang: No leading player has done more to promote the growth of tennis in Asia… http://t.co/jV…