One man, one million fans 

Source: ONE SportRafael Nadal signs autographs in Shanghai

Rafa Nadal is the story of the 2009 Shanghai Masters and he is yet to play a match finds tvnz.co.nz's Mike Burgess.

Nadal has always attracted a fanatical following in Asia, and the absence of arch rival Roger Federer has just served to put more focus on the Spanish superstar.

He arrived on Sunday into Shanghai and it was something more akin to a rock star than a tennis player.

I was in the huge cafeteria area (surprise, surprise) mulling over a myriad of options when the noise started.

"Naaa-dahl! Naa-dahl! Naa-dahl!"

Suddenly a sea of people surged past. I pursued.

Nadal was flanked by a dozen security men, in identical black suits. Two were American, had necks thicker than the average waist and forearms that could break concrete.

The rest were Chinese and all of identical height, while for good measure there was also another ten or so police officers.

An attempt to get at all close was politely brushed away. These guys were courteous, but meant business.

The Nadal express

The Nadal express made its way through the huge Qizhong arena to practice court number five. It is one the smaller courts at this massive complex, but the four grandstands still hold over 1000.

Practice commenced and after about half an hour of getting into the groove, he then proceeded to wind things up.

It was a sight to see, quite brutal the way he smashes his forehand, with a vicious snap of the wrist at the end of the stroke.

He was hitting the ball as hard as anyone I have seen, and that includes Chilean master blaster Fernando Gonzalez.

Then he seemed to go up another notch. And another. Till his body just whirred into a blur.

His Chinese practice partner beginning to struggle, dripping with sweat from every pore. One racquet was broken, and while the coach fixed that, another one proceeded to go.

Meanwhile Nadal, who is famous for his intensity and quest for perfection, also managed to have some fun.

Nadal's uncle Miguel Angel played football for Barcelona and Spain, and some of those genes have obviously filtered through.

Nadal would flick the ball off the ground from one foot to another, at one point managing an outrageous trick flicking the tennis ball up from behind his back before kicking it with the other heel.

It would be difficult with a football, let alone with the yellow fuzzy.

After one skill duel with coach (and Uncle) Toni he seemed particularly happy.

"Viste, Soy mas futbolista que tenista. Sabes" (You see, I am more of a footballer than a tennis player - you know.

Pressing the point

Tennis crowds in China may not be the most knowledgable, but they are super enthusiastic, cheering every point.

At the press conference the next day I was determined to get Nadal's perspective on the fanatical Shanghai support

Tvnz.co.nz; "I was watching your practice last night. There was about one thousand people there at the court watching you..."

Nadal: (Interupting) "Maybe less. Less than one thousand." This prompted much laughter.

Tvnz.co.nz: "No, I was counting." (More laughter) It was like you were a rock star. How do you feel when you have such support there for you just to practice?"

Nadal: "It is very nice, no? Here the fans are very emotional with me all the time [and] they show their emotions a lot. That makes me feel very [good] no?"

He went on to talk about his amazing experience at the Olympics last year (he won gold in Beijing) and the last two years of the Masters Cup here in Shanghai.

"The people [are] very nice with me all the time, no?"

'[I] just can say thank you very much to everybody [here] in China."

Gracias Rafa, you can be sure the feeling is mutual.

tvnz.co.nz's Michael Burgess is in China courtesy of the Asia New Zealand foundation and travelled there with Air New Zealand. He is aiming to investigate the impact and legacy of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and will be writing about the sights and sounds of China along the way.