Shanghai Rolex Masters serves up top tennis talent to an eager fan base

Michael Andres Luévano, executive director of the international division at Shanghai Juss Event Management Company. Provided to China Daily

The 2015 Shanghai Rolex Masters will be held in Shanghai from Oct 10 - 18. China Daily talked to Michael Andres Luévano, executive director of the international division at Shanghai Juss Event Management Co Ltd, the organizer, to discover more about the event.

Q: What has Juss learned organizing the Shanghai Rolex Masters over the past years?

A: The experience and expertise that Juss Events has gained by staging the Shanghai Rolex Masters has been tremendous. Staging one of the world's most prestigious and award winning men's ATP competitions has enabled us to build the strongest sports marketing and operations teams in China today. In the areas of sponsor acquisition, television, including digital, player services and fan-friendly atmosphere, we have no equal. Except of course, Formula 1, which we own as well!

Q: What achievements has Juss had over the past years?

A: There have been numerous achievements over the past few years, however, what we are very proud of is to have signed Rolex as our title sponsor of the event for a 10-year term beginning in 2016. This partnership is unprecedented on the ATP tour. We are also honored to have been voted by the ATP players as the Best Masters Event in the world five years in a row, from 2009 to 2013.

Q: What are the difficulties you have met during the events? And how have you overcome them?

A: There are always challenges when staging events on the scale of the Shanghai Rolex Masters. If I had to pick one of the challenges, I think it would have to be building a strong annual attendance. Tennis is still a growing sport here in China and we make building our fan base a daily priority. We set an attendance record last year of 152,000 people. In terms of finding the right solution, it's a combination of factors; focused marketing on specific groups, such as students or families; offering incentives, such as tennis coaching; and, of course, having the world's best players, like Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, compete in the tournament and play well.

Q: As the event director of the Shanghai Rolex Masters, what has impressed you most during the past years' events?

A: This year I will celebrate 30 years of being a tournament director. This role allows me be involved in all aspects of the tournament management and operations. What impresses me most is how passionate the Chinese tennis fans are. Every year I see fans camped out at the players' hotels and waiting at the airports just to see their favorites. The passion and loyalty is phenomenal in Shanghai.

Q: What do you expect to achieve during the 2015 Shanghai Rolex Masters?

A: Our goal for the 2015 tournament is to break last year's attendance record as well as offer the fans a more entertaining and interactive onsite experience.

Q: Are there any highlights to watch out for during this year's event?

A: We believe that the competition of the world's best is the highlight. What we call "Super Wednesday" is always special because all the top seeded players play their matches on that day. We also love to have the spectators come to the first Saturday, Oct 10, for "Kids Day". It is free entrance and lots of activities for the family.