TNT Sports
Shanghai extends to 2008
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Published 14/03/2006 at 13:55 GMT
The Masters Cup will stay in Shanghai until at least 2008. A raft of withdrawals from last year's event, the first of what had been a three-year deal to host the tournament in the booming eastern Chinese city, has not dissuaded organisers from wanting to host it in 2008, China's Olympic year.
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"It's known to all that the 2008 Olympic Games will be held in Beijing," Qiu Weichang, the deputy director of the Shanghai Administration of Sports, said in a statement Tuesday.
"We hope the Tennis Masters Cup can add to the prestige of the 'Sports Year' and we are fully confident that the Masters Cup in 2008 will be more successful than ever."
The tournament, which has a history going back to 1970 under various guises, was devised pitting the top eight players in the world against each other.
Shanghai also hosted the event in 2002 at the International Expo centre when Australian Lleyton Hewiit won, but there was a great deal of disappointment when a raft of top name withdrawals seriously weakened the field for its return last November.
Hewiit, Andy Roddick and Marat Safin all turned down the chance to play at the purpose-built Qi Zhong Tennis Centre because of injury or personal commitments, while Rafael Nadal and Andre Agassi pulled out after the start.
MERCEDES PARTS
"We feel like we bought a Mercedes-Benz only to find 60 percent of the auto parts are no longer the original ones we paid for," an organiser said at last year's event.
Argentine David Nalbandian beat an injury hampered Roger Federer to break the world number one's two-year dominance of the tournament.
"It is very good news for tennis, and particularly for tennis in China, that the Tennis Masters Cup will remain in Shanghai," International Tennis Federation President Francesco Ricci Bitti said in a statement released by organisers.
"There will be many milestones for tennis in China over the next few years with the Olympic tennis event in Beijing and three more outstanding editions of the tournament season-ending championships in Shanghai."
Shanghai will join New York, Frankfurt and Hannover in hosting one of the versions of the year-end championship four times or more.
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