Tennis fans will tell you that Lleyton Hewitt won the Tennis Masters Cup, which finished with a marathon final yesterday, but Party Secretary and Mayor Chen Liangyu might tell you the real winner of the weeklong event was the city of Shanghai.
"We are looking forward to hosting the event again," Chen said during the event's closing ceremony yesterday at the Shanghai New International Expo Center. "We would like to host other high-level tennis events and all kinds of sports events."
As an eager bidder to host the 2010 World Expo, the city hopes its success in hosting the tennis season's final event will help build support in the run up to December's selection of a host city for the expo.
"We hope all our friends will continue to support China's bid to hold 2010 World Expo in Shanghai," Chen said.
The tennis final, which lasted almost four hours, saw 21-year-old, Australian Hewitt beat Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 7-5, 2-6, 2-6, 6-4.
Losing only one group match, the young Aussie walked away with US$1.4 million and gained 130 ATP points to secure his world No. 1 ranking with 897 points for the season.
This is the second year in a row Hewitt has won the year-ending tournament, which showcases the top eight male players in the world.
When the event wrapped up last night, organizers received almost as many kudos as Hewitt.
"I'm sure I can speak for the entire tennis family in saying that we consider this event a fantastic success, organized in every way, second to none," Mark Miles, CEO of the Association of Tennis Professionals, told a news conference on Saturday.
Francesco Ricci Bitti, President of the International Tennis Federation, said he is also impressed by Shanghai's "outstanding and successful organization" of the event.
(Eastday.com November 18, 2002)
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