China unlikely to realize Grand Slam tennis dream

China unlikely to realize Grand Slam tennis dream China's dream of someday hosting a fifth Grand Slam tournament is unlikely to ever come true according to the ATP's top man in Asia.

Former player Brad Drewett says that despite the will and the money in the world's most populous nation to put on such an event, the four majors also have history on their side.

"The Grand Slams have many things, but they have something you can't replace, and that's a great history and tradition over 50, 100 years," Frewett told the Melbourne Age. "The four Grand Slams are the four Grand Slams.

"But I believe that these (Chinese) tournaments can become extremely significant events on the world stage, just by the very fact they've got these absolutely world-class facilities, together with the biggest growing market in the world - one billion-plus people that companies are trying to sell to, which is a great platform for sponsorships, and they've got great television support."

The women's French Open title won by Li Na has rekindled the idea - in China at least - of trying to establish a fifth Grand Slam. But that's an elite club where even truckloads of money and infrastructure cannot pry open the door.

Though Chinese central government can plan, design and erect a state-of-the-art covered stadium in a matter of months while Grand Slam nations like the US debate for years about putting one roof on a decrepit Ashe stadium in New York, it's not just about the perfect infrastructure.

The longtime problem at the Chinese events is a lack of crowds, with the ATP events in Beijing and this week in Shanghai failing to pull in the punters in the early stages of play.

Competitors can also feel the difference. "There are a lot of courts, and the facilities are here to be a bigger tournament," said Croatian Ivan Ljubicic in Beijing, which debuted yet another new stadium for the just-concluded edition.

"But the fact is that we have a very limited number of big tournaments that it's very difficult to be one of.

"I'm sure that the China Open in Beijing would love to have a bigger tournament like a Masters 1000 or hopefully bigger than that. But it's really schedule-wise difficult to become part of it once you're not."