01 October 2011
The Opening exhibition match --- Sampras VS Safin
Beijing, China, Sept.30th --- The opening exhibition in the National Tennis Court between Marat Safin and Pete Sampras ended. Safin beat Sampras by 6-3/6-4. In this splendid game, both Safin and Sampras entertained and amused fans by their skills. For an exhibition match, they brought laughter to the spectators.
Before the match, the whole stadium was crowded by enthusiastic fans. Safin's fans were holding his posters and screaming his name to draw his attention. In the third game, Safin challenged for his second serve, but the umpire neglected to notice that Sampras showed that this serve was in before Safin's challenging. However "bad boy" Safin didn't return this favor. When Sampras thought his serve was in, Safin made a gesture to show that the ball was only few centimeters out. However after he went close to check serves line, he exaggerated the distance to half a meter, which made whole stadium laugh.
Compared to the energetic and humorous Safin, Sampras, who played with gentle smile through the whole game, earned applause by his brilliant scores. He played very well in the fifth game particularly with his beautiful forehand and the shot promoted applause from spectators. However, you have to admit the age gap between the two players, especially after Sampras reached 40. Safin finally won this game by an ACE.
The funny Safin entertained the spectators very much. As a player famous for smashing the racquet, Safin knew well that it was not appropriate to lose his temper when giving an exhibition performance. Yet, to show his unique character and entertain the spectators, he pretended to smash his racquet for several times.
In the second set, the two tennis kings were more focused and the match became close, in which spectators were deeply caught. Sampras was leading by 4-3 after his cool forehand half-volley scored. Very much satisfied with the hit, Sampras also won the thundering applause from spectators. However, his opponent Safin never wanted a tie break. After holding his next serve game, he fought fiercely back. Later, a forced error made Safin roared to vent his dissatisfaction, which was a natural manner of him. After securing six consecutive scores, he claimed the match in the end.
Sampras falls to Safin in first-ever Diamond Court Match
By Pete Schmidt and Suet Lee
On a chilly night in Beijing, Marat Safin defeated Pete Sampras in straight sets during an exhibition match at the opening ceremony of the Beijing China Open 2011.
Sampras had his cross-court game working early but was unable to overcome Safin's powerful first-serves. Sampras was broken early in both sets that ultimately proved the decisive factor in the match.
Despite the crowd heavily favoring Sampras, Safin was able to win the match 6-3, 6-4, in just over an hour.
After the inaugural match on Diamond Court, the two paired up with two of China's most promising tennis stars, Peng Shuai and Zhang Shuai in a mixed doubles match.
Playing alongside Safin was Peng Shuai, currently ranked 20th in the WTA. On the other side of the court was 22-year-old, Zhang Shuai, who was paired up with the former No. 1 Pete Sampras.
In a crowd-entertaining match, both Sampras and Safin had the crowd laughing at their clowning-around, as Peng and Zhang showed off the skills that have the tennis world talking about the two upcoming Chinese players.
Zhang Shuai will face Slovakia's Dominika Cibulka and Peng Shuai will face Italian Flavia Pennetta in the Women's Singles tournament beginning tomorrow.