Senior Matt Kandel traveled to Shanghai last week to represent Williams College in an international cultural exchange tennis tournament between American and Chinese collegiate players. Day one of the tournament was a warmup, where the players toured the stadium court of the Shanghai Rolex Masters ATP 1000 tournament, and competed in a single set to get their bearings on Chinese soil. Kandel defeated his opponent 6-3 on stadium court with a solid performance.
Day two began early and at an outdoor venue and with temperatures climbing above 100 degrees, all the players knew it would be a battle with their opponents as well as the heat. In the quarterfinals, Kandel faced Li, a Chinese player from Shanghai University. Kandel came out hot, and with some solid return games backed by precise serving and volleying, found himself up 4-0 in only 10 minutes.
Not looking back, Kandel went on to win the set 6-2. The second set started out much tighter as the first three games all went to deuce, but Kandel got a crucial break in the third game after a beautiful backhand lob found the baseline. Up a set and a break, he continued his fine form and finished the match 6-2, 6-2.
In the semifinals, he played the winner of an American from Division I program Long Island University and a Chinese player from Guangdong University. After a tough battle, the Chinese player prevailed, and the semis were set. Two Americans remained, and two Chinese remained.
On day three, Kandel and Wu battled early on a.