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THE DRAW CEREMONY AT THE ROLEX EXPERIENCE
The Draw Ceremony for the 2017 Shanghai Rolex Masters was held on Saturday morning at The Rolex Experience located, the beautiful neo-classical House of Roosevelt building on Shanghai’s historic Bund.

Before the ceremony, invitees were able to tour the showroom and exclusive gallery, an ode to all things Rolex including its history (fun fact: the name “Rolex” was chosen because it’s short, easy to say in any language and looks good on the dial), inner workings of the watches and signature models.

Dramatic lighting and white-gloved assistants added to the hallowed effect as tennis legend and Rolex ambassador Bjorn Borg world No.7 Dominic Thiem and China’s No.1 Zhang Ze were spotted touring the premises.

SHANGHAI ROLEX MASTERS DRAWTENNIS - ROLEX SHANGHAI MASTERS - QI ZHONG TENNIS CENTRE - MINHANG DISTRICT - SHANGHAI - CHINA - ATP 1000 - 2017

The Draw Ceremony for the Shanghai Rolex Masters placed the tournament’s 56 players (top eight players receive a first-round bye) into their positions in the draw, including four wild cards and seven qualifiers.

The ceremony started out by placing the top two seeds (Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer) on opposite halves of the draw. From there, “Lady Luck”, duly assisted by VIP guests including Borg, world no.7 Dominic Thiem and China’s #1 male player, Zhang Ze, randomly drew chips (corresponding to specific players) that decided where the rest of the players fell, starting with the remaining 14 seeded players, followed by the rest of the field which this year features 21 of the world’s top 30.

As the draw for the Shanghai Rolex Masters unfolds tennis fans would be ensured of a smorgasbord of match-ups.

A sizable crowd was on hand for Family Day at the 2017 Shanghai Rolex Masters, including a special joint event between the tournament and Shanghai Disney Resort.

A medley of jazzed up versions of Disney theme songs as well as a mesmerizing display of moving clouds projected onto the magnolia-inspired roof of the Qi Zhong Stadium kept fans entertained as they waited for the stars of the afternoon: 19-time major winner Roger Federer and home favorite Wu Di.

In keeping with the playful theme, Federer partnered Mickey Mouse while Wu Di had Goofy on his side for a game of doubles. While the mascots’ tennis was certainly cartoonish, the players kept things lively with Federer even hitting a tweener, much to the crowd’s delight.

SHANGHAI ROLEX MASTERS DRAWTENNIS - ROLEX SHANGHAI MASTERS - QI ZHONG TENNIS CENTRE - MINHANG DISTRICT - SHANGHAI - CHINA - ATP 1000 - 2017

The afternoon festivities also included 4-on-4 doubles with Disney characters and a few lucky kids had a relay race involving giant racquets, giant balls while a tiny 6-year-old boy dwarfed by his oversized racquet definitely won the hearts of the crowd.

When it came time for dance punishments, Federer, ever a good sport, showed that he fit right into the Disney theme by showing off his lovable “goofy” side. The father-of-four showcased his dance repertoire which spanned the ages in doing The Swim and The Robot.

A medley of jazzed up versions of Disney theme songs as well as a mesmerizing display of moving clouds projected onto the magnolia-inspired roof of the Qi Zhong Stadium kept fans entertained as they waited for the stars of the afternoon: 19-time major winner Roger Federer and home favorite Wu Di.

SHANGHAI ROLEX MASTERS DRAWTENNIS - ROLEX SHANGHAI MASTERS - QI ZHONG TENNIS CENTRE - MINHANG DISTRICT - SHANGHAI - CHINA - ATP 1000 - 2017

In keeping with the playful theme, Federer partnered Mickey Mouse while Wu Di had Goofy on his side for a game of doubles. While the mascots’ tennis was certainly cartoonish, the players kept things lively with Federer even hitting a tweener, much to the crowd’s delight.

The afternoon festivities also included 4-on-4 doubles with Disney characters and a few lucky kids had a relay race involving giant racquets, giant balls while a tiny 6-year-old boy dwarfed by his oversized racquet definitely won the hearts of the crowd.

When it came time for dance punishments, Federer, ever a good sport, showed that he fit right into the Disney theme by showing off his lovable “goofy” side. The father-of-four showcased his dance repertoire which spanned the ages in doing The Swim and The Robot.

An executive summary of what every fan should know about the coming week on the ATP World Tour
1. Roger and Rafa in China: Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are the top two seeds in the tournament for the first time. Nadal leads Federer by 2,160 points in the Emirates ATP Race To London (going into Beijing F), with 4,000 points still available for both players at Shanghai, Basel, Paris and the Nitto ATP Finals.
2. Rafa at No. 1: Nadal has played at every edition of the Shanghai Rolex Masters except 2012. He is 12-7 at the tournament, posting his best finish as runner-up at the inaugural event in 2009 (l. to Davydenko). The Spaniard is ranked No. 1 for the 149th week of his career and making his third Shanghai appearance as the top player in the world (2010 3rd Round and 2013 Semi-finalist).
3. Roger Returns: Federer is making his first ATP World Tour appearance since reaching the quarter-finals at the US Open. The Swiss is 13-4 at the Shanghai Rolex Masters, winning the 2014 title (d. Simon) and reaching the 2010 final (l. to Murray). In his last visit to Shanghai two years ago, Federer lost his opening match to Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Federer is 39-4 in 2017 with five titles.
4. Former Champions/Finalists: Federer is the only former champion in the Shanghai Rolex Masters main draw (2014) and one of five players to have finished runner-up (2010), joining Nadal (2009), Juan Martin del Potro (2013), Gilles Simon (2014) and Roberto Bautista Agut (2016).
5. Next Gen ATP Finals Preview: The Top 10 players in the Emirates ATP Race to Milan are in the main or qualifying draw, led by ATP Masters 1000 Rome and Montreal champion Alexander Zverev, US Open quarter-finalist Andrey Rublev and 18-year-old sensation Denis Shapovalov.
6. Sascha Makes History: Last week in Beijing, Zverev became the youngest qualifier for the Nitto ATP Finals since del Potro in 2008. The 20-year-old German is also the youngest Top 5 player, ATP Masters 1000 champion, and five-time champion in a season since Novak Djokovic in 2007. Zverev defeated Cilic en route to the third round in his Shanghai debut last year (l. to Tsonga).
7. The Race is On: No. 7 seed Pablo Carreno Busta, No. 8 seed David Goffin, No. 10 seed Sam Querrey and No. 11 seed Kevin Anderson are battling to earn a spot for the eight-man Nitto ATP Finals. Going into the Tokyo final, Goffin is holding the final spot. Goffin is 8-0 in Asia thus far this fall after winning the Shenzhen title and reaching the Tokyo final (vs. Mannarino).
8. Wild Cards: Chinese players Di Wu, Yibing Wu and Ze Zhang join Shapovalov as main draw wild cards. Yibing Wu, 17, won the junior singles and doubles titles at the US Open, where Shapovalov qualified and became the youngest player to reach the fourth round since Michael Chang in 1989.
9. Perfect Attendance: Simon and three-time semi-finalist Feliciano Lopez are the only players in the nine-year history of the Shanghai Rolex Masters to play at every edition of the event (2009-17).
10. Doubles Draw: Defending champions John Isner and Jack Sock are joined by 2017 Grand Slam winners Henri Kontinen/John Peers, Ryan Harrison/Michael Venus, Lukasz Kubot/Marcelo Melo and Jean-Julien Rojer/Horia Tecau. Kubot and Melo are the No. 1 team in the world.