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October 10, 2016

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Home » Supplement » Tennis Masters Cup

Hitting balls with Federer? You must be joking!

TO win a chance to challenge the world’s top-ranked tennis players at the Shanghai Rolex Masters is never easy for a Chinese player — he has to get a wildcard entry, beat opponents in qualifying, first-round matches, and pray for a good draw before taking on legends like Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, et al.

For amateur player Zhu Delong, it’s a dream come true to stand on the opposite side of a court facing his idols. Zhu has his job to thank — official practice partner of the annual ATP 1000 event in Shanghai.

Zhu’s responsibility is to assist ATP players in practice and warm-up sessions during the weeklong tournament. Together with another workmate, they have to accompany different players every day from 10am till the beginning of the last match of the day.

“It is very tiring, but a once-in-a-life-time chance for many tennis followers,” Zhu told Shanghai Daily. “Not many Chinese can tell the world that they have exchanged skills with Federer!”

The 27-year-old Dalian native used to be a professional player representing Zhejiang Province team. He quit professional tennis in 2013 to study at Shanghai University, majoring in enterprise management. Zhu had taken part in the ATP Challengers Tour organized by Juss Event, local organizer of Shanghai Rolex Masters and has worked as a practice partner since 2014.

The first star player Zhu assisted was Federer, who wanted to do some practice in a downtown court after arriving in Shanghai for the 2014 tournament.

“We met at Jing’an Indoor Stadium. He came out of the elevator and shook hands with me, saying ‘hi, I’m Roger Federer.’ I guess I got stuck for a moment before introducing myself.

“I was very excited that day and performed well in our mini match, though I don’t think Federer took it very seriously. It still felt like a dream.

“Federer is undoubtedly the favorite of Shanghai fans. The practice court at Qizhong is usually packed two hours before his practice session,” said Zhu, who has a lot to share about the 17-time grand slam champion.

“Federer was surrounded by bodyguards and we could not enter the court together. Therefore, I was hesitating whether to enter the court before or after him. If I enter before him, I would be pressured by the cheers from fans which were not meant for me, and I could not enter after him as if I was the bigger star there …

“I eventually decided to enter the court before him, and just waved back to the enthusiastic fans as I was really a big star … and I really enjoyed it!” Zhu laughed.

“When we got more familiar, a court staff asked Federer to take a guess of my world ranking. Federer said it might be between 150 and 200. He was very surprised after knowing I was a student,” Zhu said proudly.

“Federer doesn’t like having his practice partner changed too often, same for his driver and bodyguards during his stay in Shanghai. To be frank, he was not one of my favorite players before. But after getting to know him, I have to say he is elegant and gentle in every way. He is perfect.”

Zhu assisted Federer in seven practice sessions in 2014 until the Swiss lifted the champion’s trophy. He also practiced with Bryant brothers who won the doubles competition in Shanghai that year.

Other tennis stars Zhu played with on practice court include Novak Djokovic, John Isner, Fabio Fognini and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

“Tsonga is a nice person who would pick up the balls himself after practice,” Zhu spoke of the Frenchman. “If possible, I want to practice with Juan Martin del Potro this year.”

The Argentine, a former US Open champion, was given a wildcard for this year’s Shanghai Rolex Masters.

As a tournament staff, Zhu is usually not allowed to ask for autographs or take pictures with the players, though some would give him signed balls as a gift.

“It’s also not appropriate for us to consult them about playing skills, though they won’t refuse if you really ask,” said Zhu. “But practicing with them is already a good learning process for me.”

A lot of foreign players enjoyed Zhu’s company as well as his self-taught English.

“I picked up some basic English when taking part in competitions abroad,” said Zhu. “I’m never shy of asking questions when communicating with foreigners. I also search dictionary for technical terms.”

Zhu’s role could hardly be described as a “job” as he doesn’t get paid for the work.

“Money is not a big deal as I know it’s an experience not many people can get,” he said. “We also get to enjoy five-star services players receive during the tournament.” For example, they are treated the same as the players with meals prepared by Michelin-starred chefs as well as top-class medical care. “I never experienced services like these back in my professional days.”

Zhu is now the head coach of Mass Tennis, a tennis club he set up together with a few schoolmates. Mass Tennis provides tennis training courses and organizes competitions for amateurs. He picked up the sport at the age of seven under the influence of his father, who is a tennis fan. Three years later, he became the champion of a national tournament for juniors under the age of 10.

“My coach appreciated my talent and suggested that I go professional,” said Zhu. “Therefore I had to give up school education as it was impossible to manage both at the same time.”

Zhu moved to Hangzhou and joined Zhejiang Province team. He competed in two National Games and reached the quarterfinals in 2013 before he quit as a professional.

“Chinese players don’t lack talent but opportunities to play in high-level competitions abroad,” he said. “There are a lot of restrictions for Chinese players in local teams. However, not many can afford becoming an independent player given the huge expenses on travel and training.

“That’s one of the reasons I gave up my professional career. But I will surely continue to tie my career to sports because that’s where my interest is,” said Zhu.




 

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