Beijing, China: The China Open paid the perfect tribute to the memory of former ATP Executive Chairman and President Brad Drewett by naming a court after him at a ceremony here on Sunday.
Court No 1 at the China National Tennis Centre will now be known as the Brad Drewett Court in recognition of the tennis administrator and ex-player — a Gulf News columnist — who died on May 3 aged 54 after battling Motor Neurone Disease.
A bust of Drewett was unveiled on centre court in front of an appreciative crowd on Sunday by Alison Lee, Executive Vice President, International Group, ATP World Tour and China Open tournament co-directors Alfred Zhang and Charles Hsiung.
“Today is a special day for us here as we pay homage to Brad and all that he did in helping the growth of tennis in Asia,” Lee said.
Drewett was also honoured at Wimbledon at the end of June with the launch of a special commemorative book entitled ‘No 1’, which celebrated the 16 year-end ATP World Tour top-ranked players on the 40th anniversary of the ATP Rankings. The winners’ trophy for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, which will be held at the O2 Arena in London until 2015, was re-named the Brad Drewett Trophy in his memory.
Drewett announced he was suffering from Motor Neurone Disease in January this year but a month later visited Dubai for the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Sunday’s on-court ceremony started with a short video on Drewett and his association with the China Open over the years. The video also had inputs from some of the top players on the men’s tour including Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.
