Roger Federer is being immortalized as a terracotta warrior.

The world No. 1's life-sized sculpture is among a collection of eight being made to mark the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai in November.

Sculptor Laury Dizengremel (right foreground) puts the finishing touches on a terracotta warrior sculpture of Roger Federer in her studio in Shanghai.

With a collection of the Terracotta Army on show at the British Museum in London, the ATP have commissioned French sculptor Laury Dizengremel to create similar models of the players who will appear in China.

Warrior statues of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have also been commissioned and with five spots still up for grabs in the field, world No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko and Andy Roddick are among those hoping to see themselves fashioned in terracotta.

Players likely to compete in the tournament were measured and photographed and casts were made of their faces during a Master Series stop in Montreal last month.

"I think that being sculpted as a terracotta warrior is an honor, I think the idea is fun, bringing together culture and sport, and I'm looking forward to seeing the final result," said Federer.

The original Terracotta Army was created to be buried with the Emperor of Qin in 210-209 BC. It is believed to have taken some 700,000 craftsmen 38 years to complete.

The Army was rediscovered only in 1974 and 8,099 figures have since been unearthed around the Emperor's tomb. The site in China has become a major tourist attraction with nearly two million people visiting annually.

The tennis version will be unveiled at the Masters Cup in Shanghai, which begins on November 11.

(Shanghai Daily via Agencies September 20, 2007)