Shanghai, November 10:

Roger Federer showed Chinese youths the manly art of shaving as the world No 1 moved through a round of high-profile sponsor appearances two days before the start of the Masters Cup.

He has been packing in his commercial responsibilities in the days leading up to the eight-man year-end showdown, which he has won for three of the last four years.

The 26-year-old put on a shaving demonstration for a crowd of 1,000 rapture college men who got to see the tennis hero up close. Federer even demonstrated the shaving art using his sponsor’s high-tech razor, before taking questions from fans. The winner of a dozen Grand Slams confirmed again that he hopes to play for another nine years and get as far as the 2012 Olympic event. “I hope I play for a very long time,” he said. “I’m healthy and fit.”

Federer will not start his Red group play until Sunday, when number two rivals Rafael Nadal begins round-robin proceedings against Richard Gasquet. Keeping his trademark humour and poise, the Swiss demonstrated a correct shave using a larger-than-life replica of his sponsor’s newest product on a projection screen. He then invited people from the crowd to do the same.