Murray Storms
Back in Zhuhai
Twelve very eventful months later, Murray was back in China, this time competing in a new ATP tournament, the Zhuhai Championships which had taken Shenzhen’s place in the calendar.
During the intervening year, triple grand slam winner Murray revealed that he might have to retire because of a serious hip condition. He then had hip resurfacing surgery to correct the problem and launched a comeback, first in doubles before returning to singles last month at the Cincinnati Masters. He was beaten by Richard Gasquet in the first round, but there were encouraging signs in the way he played.
Next up was the Winston-Salem Open in North Carolina, where Murray, 32, was beaten in straight sets – both requiring tie-breaks – by American Tennys Sandgren. Sandgren was at the other side of the next again when Murray stepped onto centre court at the Hengqin International Tennis Centre in Zhuhai. Murray raced ahead in the first set, closing it out at 6-3. The second was more even, and was settled by a tie-break, which Sandgren won 8-6.
Murray looked in good shape and served well, blasting a number of aces along the way. He seemed a bit more economical with his movement – always a key part of his game – than before, though he could whizz around the court when necessary.
He walked a little awkwardly between points, but there was no sign that he was in pain or distress. He defended well, and the different parts of his game – the shot variety, the game management, the building up of pressure to force errors – were also all present and correct.
You could tell that winning still meant everything to him – at one point he roared with frustration when he ploughed the ball into the net. There were also usual angry outbursts at his long-suffering team as they sat courtside.
Best of all, his resilience and do-or-die refusal to surrender were still there. This was particularly evident in the fourth game of the third set, when Murray was already 3-0 up.
The game lasted 19 minutes – the second longest in his career – and there were 13 deuces. Sandgren repeatedly reached advantage, only to be pegged back to deuce by his opponent.
Gradually Murray got on top, getting to advantage a couple of times himself before taking the game. He won the next game with a series of aces before closing out the game 6-3, 6-7 (6-8), 6-1. It was his first ATP tour victory since he had surgery, and only his second since the win at Shenzhen.
It was particularly impressive that he came back so strong in the third set – it must be easier to attain full fitness when you’re not in pain. A medical time-out was called in the set, but it was for Murray’s opponent.
Murray was beaten in three sets by Alex de Minaur in the next round. But his level of play as he continued his comeback must have made the trip to Zhuhai seem more than worthwhile to him, his team and his fans.
The Scot remains a firm crowd favourite. His deft drop shots and clever winners were cheered loud – and he even received a round of applause after he changed his racket in the middle of a game.
September 2019
WHY OH WHY ZHUHAI?
I HAD my doubts about Zhuhai when I looked up a list of the seven best things to do there and noticed that two of them were across the border in neighbouring Macau. For convenience, I planned to enter the city from Macau at the Hengqin Port border crossing as this is only a couple of kilometres from the tennis stadium. I checked online, and found that a three-day tourism visa was available at the port.
However, when I go there I was refused a visa. This seemed crazy, as Zhuhai has invested a lot of money in the ATP tournament and here I was being refused entry for no reason. I had to return to Macau and take a taxi in rush-hour to another border point, where a visa was issued without question. The delay meant that by the time I reached the stadium I had missed the first set of the Murray game.
The ATP holds tournaments in fabulous cities such as Rome, Monaco, Miami and Palm Springs that know how to deal with visitors from abroad. I don’t understand why they settled on such an unwelcoming place as Zhuhai.
It has to be said that the tennis facilities are first-class. The centre opened in 2015 but looked as if it had been spruced up for the tournament. Centre court resembles a large white flying saucer with a huge Chinese word slapped on the side, and looks particularly striking when lit up at night.
The venue for last year’s Shenzhen Open certainly looked very tired, but there is an alternative, the Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre, a top-class facility that will host the WTA Finals in October. It’s difficult to understand why the ATP event wasn’t simply moved there, rather than being shifted to Zhuhai. The Zhuhai stadium is in a new part the city that is half suburb, half construction site. I found the surrounding area terribly dull – everything closed early, and even the equivalent of the 7-11 store at my hotel was shut when I got back after the tennis.
The staging of the event was half-hearted – all the food concessions and the bar shut long before play ended. It’s not as if there’s much interest in tennis. The stadium holds 5,000 but was less than half full even though Murray was playing. This despite the fact that tickets for the match cost 20 yuan, the equivalent of US$2.80 or £2.20 – and some were sold for just 8 yuan. There were also loads of empty seats at the final. The ATP is known for staging top-class tournaments – it would be a shame if it risked that reputation for the sake of pursuing the Chinese yuan.
MORE INFO
RELATED
MURRAY IN CHINA: The first men’s Shenzhen Open, held in 2014, was won by Scotland’s Andy Murray. Fast forward four years, and he was back. In the intervening years Murray had cemented his place as a tennis great by winning Wimbledon… READ MORE
ANDY MURRAY, RESTAURATEUR: Andy Murray is a champion tennis player – but what’s he like as a restaurant owner? Is his mash as good as his smash? READ MORE
RECOMMENDED
WELCOME TO OUR WORLD! Afaranwide’s home page – this is where you can find out about our latest posts and other highlights. READ MORE
TOP 10 VIRTUAL ATTRACTIONS: Many of the world’s most popular tourists sites are closed because of the coronavirus crisis, but you can still visit them virtually while you’re self-isolating. READ MORE
SHIMLA, QUEEN OF THE HILLS: Government officials once retreated to Shimla in the foothills of the Himalayas to escape India’s blazing hot summers. Now tourists make the same journey. READ MORE
TEN THINGS WE LEARNED: Our up-to-the-minute guide to creating a website, one step at a time. The costs, the mistakes – it’s what we wish we’d known when we started blogging. READ MORE
TROUBLED TIMES FOR EXPATS: Moving abroad can seem an idyllic prospect, but what happens when sudden upheavals or the inescapable realities of life intrude? READ MORE
LET'S KEEP IN TOUCH!
Murray Storms
Back in Zhuhai
COLIN SIMPSON
Zhuhai Championships
A YEAR ago I crossed the Chinese border from Hong Kong to watch Andy Murray take part in the Shenzhen Open. He played well, winning his second-round match against David Goffin 6-3, 6-4 before going out in the next round.
Twelve very eventful months later, Murray was back in China, this time competing in a new ATP tournament, the Zhuhai Championships which had taken Shenzhen’s place in the calendar.
During the intervening year, triple grand slam winner Murray revealed that he might have to retire because of a serious hip condition. He then had hip resurfacing surgery to correct the problem and launched a comeback, first in doubles before returning to singles last month at the Cincinnati Masters. He was beaten by Richard Gasquet in the first round, but there were encouraging signs in the way he played.
Next up was the Winston-Salem Open in North Carolina, where Murray, 32, was beaten in straight sets – both requiring tie-breaks – by American Tennys Sandgren. Sandgren was at the other side of the next again when Murray stepped onto centre court at the Hengqin International Tennis Centre in Zhuhai. Murray raced ahead in the first set, closing it out at 6-3. The second was more even, and was settled by a tie-break, which Sandgren won 8-6.
Murray looked in good shape and served well, blasting a number of aces along the way. He seemed a bit more economical with his movement – always a key part of his game – than before, though he could whizz around the court when necessary.
He walked a little awkwardly between points, but there was no sign that he was in pain or distress. He defended well, and the different parts of his game – the shot variety, the game management, the building up of pressure to force errors – were also all present and correct.
You could tell that winning still meant everything to him – at one point he roared with frustration when he ploughed the ball into the net. There were also usual angry outbursts at his long-suffering team as they sat courtside.
Best of all, his resilience and do-or-die refusal to surrender were still there. This was particularly evident in the fourth game of the third set, when Murray was already 3-0 up.
The game lasted 19 minutes – the second longest in his career – and there were 13 deuces. Sandgren repeatedly reached advantage, only to be pegged back to deuce by his opponent.
Gradually Murray got on top, getting to advantage a couple of times himself before taking the game. He won the next game with a series of aces before closing out the game 6-3, 6-7 (6-8), 6-1. It was his first ATP tour victory since he had surgery, and only his second since the win at Shenzhen.
It was particularly impressive that he came back so strong in the third set – it must be easier to attain full fitness when you’re not in pain. A medical time-out was called in the set, but it was for Murray’s opponent.
Murray was beaten in three sets by Alex de Minaur in the next round. But his level of play as he continued his comeback must have made the trip to Zhuhai seem more than worthwhile to him, his team and his fans.
The Scot remains a firm crowd favourite. His deft drop shots and clever winners were cheered loud – and he even received a round of applause after he changed his racket in the middle of a game.
September 2019
WHY OH WHY ZHUHAI?
I HAD my doubts about Zhuhai when I looked up a list of the seven best things to do there and noticed that two of them were across the border in neighbouring Macau. For convenience, I planned to enter the city from Macau at the Hengqin Port border crossing as this is only a couple of kilometres from the tennis stadium. I checked online, and found that a three-day tourism visa was available at the port.
However, when I go there I was refused a visa. This seemed crazy, as Zhuhai has invested a lot of money in the ATP tournament and here I was being refused entry for no reason. I had to return to Macau and take a taxi in rush-hour to another border point, where a visa was issued without question. The delay meant that by the time I reached the stadium I had missed the first set of the Murray game.
The ATP holds tournaments in fabulous cities such as Rome, Monaco, Miami and Palm Springs that know how to deal with visitors from abroad. I don’t understand why they settled on such an unwelcoming place as Zhuhai.
It has to be said that the tennis facilities are first-class. The centre opened in 2015 but looked as if it had been spruced up for the tournament. Centre court resembles a large white flying saucer with a huge Chinese word slapped on the side, and looks particularly striking when lit up at night.
The venue for last year’s Shenzhen Open certainly looked very tired, but there is an alternative, the Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre, a top-class facility that will host the WTA Finals in October. It’s difficult to understand why the ATP event wasn’t simply moved there, rather than being shifted to Zhuhai. The Zhuhai stadium is in a new part the city that is half suburb, half construction site. I found the surrounding area terribly dull – everything closed early, and even the equivalent of the 7-11 store at my hotel was shut when I got back after the tennis.
The staging of the event was half-hearted – all the food concessions and the bar shut long before play ended. It’s not as if there’s much interest in tennis. The stadium holds 5,000 but was less than half full even though Murray was playing. This despite the fact that tickets for the match cost 20 yuan, the equivalent of US$2.80 or £2.20 – and some were sold for just 8 yuan. There were also loads of empty seats at the final. The ATP is known for staging top-class tournaments – it would be a shame if it risked that reputation for the sake of pursuing the Chinese yuan.
MORE INFO
RELATED
MURRAY IN CHINA: The first men’s Shenzhen Open, held in 2014, was won by Scotland’s Andy Murray. Fast forward four years, and he was back. In the intervening years Murray had cemented his place as a tennis great by winning Wimbledon… READ MORE
ANDY MURRAY, RESTAURATEUR: Andy Murray is a champion tennis player – but what’s he like as a restaurant owner? Is his mash as good as his smash? READ MORE
RECOMMENDED
WELCOME TO OUR WORLD! Afaranwide’s home page – this is where you can find out about our latest posts and other highlights. READ MORE
TOP 10 VIRTUAL ATTRACTIONS: Many of the world’s most popular tourists sites are closed because of the coronavirus crisis, but you can still visit them virtually while you’re self-isolating. READ MORE
SHIMLA, QUEEN OF THE HILLS: Government officials once retreated to Shimla in the foothills of the Himalayas to escape India’s blazing hot summers. Now tourists make the same journey. READ MORE
TEN THINGS WE LEARNED: Our up-to-the-minute guide to creating a website, one step at a time. The costs, the mistakes – it’s what we wish we’d known when we started blogging. READ MORE
TROUBLED TIMES FOR EXPATS: Moving abroad can seem an idyllic prospect, but what happens when sudden upheavals or the inescapable realities of life intrude? READ MORE
LET'S KEEP IN TOUCH!
Murray Storms
Back in Zhuhai
COLIN SIMPSON
Zhuhai Championships
A YEAR ago I crossed the Chinese border from Hong Kong to watch Andy Murray take part in the Shenzhen Open. He played well, winning his second-round match against David Goffin 6-3, 6-4 before going out in the next round.
Twelve very eventful months later, Murray was back in China, this time competing in a new ATP tournament, the Zhuhai Championships which had taken Shenzhen’s place in the calendar.
During the intervening year, triple grand slam winner Murray revealed that he might have to retire because of a serious hip condition. He then had hip resurfacing surgery to correct the problem and launched a comeback, first in doubles before returning to singles last month at the Cincinnati Masters. He was beaten by Richard Gasquet in the first round, but there were encouraging signs in the way he played.
Next up was the Winston-Salem Open in North Carolina, where Murray, 32, was beaten in straight sets – both requiring tie-breaks – by American Tennys Sandgren.
Sandgren was at the other side of the next again when Murray stepped onto centre court at the Hengqin International Tennis Centre in Zhuhai. Murray raced ahead in the first set, closing it out at 6-3. The second was more even, and was settled by a tie-break, which Sandgren won 8-6.
Murray looked in good shape and served well, blasting a number of aces along the way. He seemed a bit more economical with his movement – always a key part of his game – than before, though he could whizz around the court when necessary.
He walked a little awkwardly between points, but there was no sign that he was in pain or distress. He defended well, and the different parts of his game – the shot variety, the game management, the building up of pressure to force errors – were also all present and correct.
You could tell that winning still meant everything to him – at one point he roared with frustration when he ploughed the ball into the net. There were also usual angry outbursts at his long-suffering team as they sat courtside.
Best of all, his resilience and do-or-die refusal to surrender were still there. This was particularly evident in the fourth game of the third set, when Murray was already 3-0 up.
The game lasted 19 minutes – the second longest in his career – and there were 13 deuces. Sandgren repeatedly reached advantage, only to be pegged back to deuce by his opponent.
Gradually Murray got on top, getting to advantage a couple of times himself before taking the game. He won the next game with a series of aces before closing out the game 6-3, 6-7 (6-8), 6-1. It was his first ATP tour victory since he had surgery, and only his second since the win at Shenzhen.
It was particularly impressive that he came back so strong in the third set – it must be easier to attain full fitness when you’re not in pain. A medical time-out was called in the set, but it was for Murray’s opponent.
Murray was beaten in three sets by Alex de Minaur in the next round. But his level of play as he continued his comeback must have made the trip to Zhuhai seem more than worthwhile to him, his team and his fans.
The Scot remains a firm crowd favourite. His deft drop shots and clever winners were cheered loud – and he even received a round of applause after he changed his racket in the middle of a game.
September 2019
WHY OH WHY ZHUHAI?
I HAD my doubts about Zhuhai when I looked up a list of the seven best things to do there and noticed that two of them were across the border in neighbouring Macau.
For convenience, I planned to enter the city from Macau at the Hengqin Port border crossing as this is only a couple of kilometres from the tennis stadium. I checked online, and found that a three-day tourism visa was available at the port.
However, when I go there I was refused a visa. This seemed crazy, as Zhuhai has invested a lot of money in the ATP tournament and here I was being refused entry for no reason.
I had to return to Macau and take a taxi in rush-hour to another border point, where a visa was issued without question. The delay meant that by the time I reached the stadium I had missed the first set of the Murray game.
The ATP holds tournaments in fabulous cities such as Rome, Monaco, Miami and Palm Springs that know how to deal with visitors from abroad. I don’t understand why they settled on such an unwelcoming place as Zhuhai.
It has to be said that the tennis facilities are first-class. The centre opened in 2015 but looked as if it had been spruced up for the tournament. Centre court resembles a large white flying saucer with a huge Chinese word slapped on the side, and looks particularly striking when lit up at night.
The venue for last year’s Shenzhen Open certainly looked very tired, but there is an alternative, the Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre, a top-class facility that will host the WTA Finals in October. It’s difficult to understand why the ATP event wasn’t simply moved there, rather than being shifted to Zhuhai.
The Zhuhai stadium is in a new part the city that is half suburb, half construction site. I found the surrounding area terribly dull – everything closed early, and even the equivalent of the 7-11 store at my hotel was shut when I got back after the tennis.
The staging of the event was half-hearted – all the food concessions and the bar shut long before play ended. It’s not as if there’s much interest in tennis. The stadium holds 5,000 but was less than half full even though Murray was playing.
This despite the fact that tickets for the match cost 20 yuan, the equivalent of US$2.80 or £2.20 – and some were sold for just 8 yuan. There were also loads of empty seats at the final. The ATP is known for staging top-class tournaments – it would be a shame if it risked that reputation for the sake of pursuing the Chinese yuan.
MORE INFO
RELATED
MURRAY IN CHINA: The first men’s Shenzhen Open, held in 2014, was won by Scotland’s Andy Murray. Fast forward four years, and he was back. In the intervening years Murray had cemented his place as a tennis great by winning Wimbledon… READ MORE
ANDY MURRAY, RESTAURATEUR: Andy Murray is a champion tennis player – but what’s he like as a restaurant owner? Is his mash as good as his smash? READ MORE
RECOMMENDED
WELCOME TO OUR WORLD! Afaranwide’s home page – this is where you can find out about our latest posts and other highlights. READ MORE
TOP 10 VIRTUAL ATTRACTIONS: Many of the world’s most popular tourists sites are closed because of the coronavirus crisis, but you can still visit them virtually while you’re self-isolating. READ MORE
SHIMLA, QUEEN OF THE HILLS: Government officials once retreated to Shimla in the foothills of the Himalayas to escape India’s blazing hot summers. Now tourists make the same journey. READ MORE
TEN THINGS WE LEARNED: Our up-to-the-minute guide to creating a website, one step at a time. The costs, the mistakes – it’s what we wish we’d known when we started blogging. READ MORE
TROUBLED TIMES FOR EXPATS: Moving abroad can seem an idyllic prospect, but what happens when sudden upheavals or the inescapable realities of life intrude? READ MORE