IPL-style tennis league starts in Pune from Jan 19

With five Davis Cup players and four Fed Cup players in the ranks, the Premier Tennis League (PTL), to be held here from January 19-25, is expected to be very competitive.
This year's edition will have Tamil Nadu trio of N Jeevan, Ramkumar Ramanathan, who shocked India's No. 1 men's singles star Somdev Devvarman in the Chennai Open first round recently, and S Balaji.
This trio has won 11 international titles at the Futures level and all of them are very good doubles players too, making their team a strong contender for the title.
Fed Cup player Prerna Bhambri of Delhi will be representing the new team -- Vibrant Volleyers.

Known as Maharashtra Tennis League in its first edition last year, the league has been rechristened as the PTL and has acquired a national status with top line players from across the country participating in the same.
The new logo and trophy were unveiled by PTL Organising Committee Chairman Aniruddha Deshpande today at the Deccan Gymkhana in the presence of team owners.

The draw was also announced.
Holders Accurate Aces will play against Dazzling Deuces, Baseline Bombers will take on Mumbai Blasters and debutants Vibrant Volleyers will clash against Sharp Smashers on the first day of competition.
A tie involves one women's singles, two men's singles, one men's doubles and one mixed doubles matches.

The IPL-style league, in its second year, would see action in the morning from 11 am and in the evening from 4.30.