China's aces face best of the rest

The Shanghai Rolex Masters represents a rare opportunity for China's homegrown talents to gauge their game against the world's best.

As the eighth of nine Association of Tennis Professionals 1000 tournaments, the Oct 6-14 event at Shanghai's Qizhong Tennis Center boasts a deep field in its 64-seed singles main draw, including Swiss great Roger Federer, 14-time major winner Novak Djokovic of Serbia and world No 4 Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, competing for a prize pool of $7.6 million along with the winner's 1,000 ranking points.

Tournament organizers announced on Wednesday that three out of four wild cards will go to local aces Wu Yibing, Zhang Ze and Li Zhe, with the last one offered to former world No 3 Stan Wawrinka, who has struggled to recover from a 2017 knee surgery.

"This is a truly distinct year for Asia's only ATP Masters 1000," said tournament director Michael Luevano. "This event has truly been a star for tennis in the Far East. We are excited for this year's championship and eagerly look forward to the next decade as we continue to help grow this great sport in the region."

Established in 2009 to succeed the previous ATP year-end championships, the Shanghai tournament has provided a big boost to Chinese tennis while serving as a stepping stone for homegrown hopefuls to elevate their game.

Wu, winner of last year's US Open boys' tournament, looks set to prove his caliber on the pro stage at the same venue where he won his first entry-level ATP Challenger tournament last fall following his impressive run in New York.