All eyes were on Roger Federer as he made his return to the Shanghai Masters on Friday, 13th October. Before the quarterfinal matches of the day got underway, there was a special ceremony as a tribute to the Swiss legend, who was named the icon athlete of the tournament on the day.
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Roger Federer, a two-time champion at the ATP Masters 1000 event watched his old match clips from the tournament and fondly recalled his time as a player in the tournament. “”I feel like I got the most incredible support here in Shanghai and in China. I’ve been very fortunate to play here for so many years,” he said.
Federer enthralling & engaging with the crowd
The highlight of the day was however Roger Federer engaging with the capacity crowd at the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena. He sent the crowd into a frenzy by taking the role of a conductor to see which part of the court could get the most noise.
He then sent the excitement levels soaring by hitting signed Tennis balls into the stands. Finally, he took selfies with excited fans making it a memorable evening.
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After the ceremony, Roger Federer was also present at the stands and witnessed the quarterfinal action between Andrey Rublev and Ugo Humbert. Fifth seed Rublev clinched a comfortable 6-2, 6-3 win. He will next face Grigor Dimitrov in the semifinal.
The tournament is being held for the first-time since 2019. Federer bowed out of the quarterfinal in 2019 after losing to Alexander Zverev. The tournament was then halted for the next three years owing to the Covid-19 outbreak.
