Big tennis down the line

The IPTL promises world-class action in the four Asian cities where it will be played.

This past Sunday, when Roger Federer came out on court to address a packed O2 arena in London at the ATP World Tour Finals, Indian tennis fans found themselves in a sweat. This was no presentation ceremony, and Federer wasn't here to collect any souvenir. He had come out to say that he was pulling out of the tournament's final against world no. 1 Novak Djokovic owing to a back injury he had sustained during a marathon semi-final against compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka the previous day. Within minutes, social media was flooded with messages like "Will Federer miss his date with Delhi now?"

The winner of 17 Grand Slam titles is scheduled to be in the national capital in the first week of December for the inaugural edition of the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL), a city-based professional tennis league that will bring together current champions, retired legends of the sport and upcoming players in an exciting format. Spread across four countries - the Philippines, Singapore, India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) - the first leg of the league kicks off in Manila on November 28. While the cloud over Federer's participation will only clear after the conclusion of Switzerland's Davis Cup final against France -which is already under way in Lille in France - the likes of Djokovic, Andy Murray, Serena Williams and Pete Sampras will be seen doing battle in the league. Twenty nine players have been divided into four teams: Manila Mavericks, Singapore Slammers, Indian Aces and the UAE Royals. While Djokovic will turn out for the Dubai-based UAE outfit; Federer, Sampras and Sania Mirza will represent the Indian Aces.

  When Mahesh Bhupathi announced the founding of the league in May last year, he said that it would be modelled on cricket's Indian Premier League. The league's fast-paced format - each tie will consist of five sets - is tailor-made for television. Bhupathi says that he wishes to "break the code" of the traditional etiquette of tennis to attract new audiences to the sport. Fans will see coaches calling for "time outs" in the middle of a game, announcing a "Power Point" and play a "shoot out" to decide the winner of each match. "In this modern era, in which live action instantly plays over the television and other media, passion for sport has made a quantum leap among the younger generation," he says.

This format may sound exciting and may be unknown to most tennis fans, but it is nothing new. It is borrowed from World Team Tennis, a professional tennis league that was launched in the United States back in 1973. The league found a major fan following among Americans, as they were enthralled by its refreshing new format.

In the last decade or so, there has been a great demand for world-class tennis across Asia and West Asia. While the UAE and Singapore have witnessed their share of quality tennis (Dubai hosts an annual ATP 1000 event, and the WTA tour finals were played in Singapore last month), India and the Philippines have hardly seen tennis superstars hit their shores. India's sole ATP event, the Chennai Open - held in the first week of January every year - is seen merely as a warm-up tournament for the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam in the tennis calendar. In the last few years, Chennai has seen players like Wawrinka and Marin Cilic compete, but the tournament rarely throws up an ultra-competitive field.

THE TEAMS

Manila Mavericks
Andy Murray, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Kirsten Flipkens, Daniel Nestor, Maria Sharapova, Carlos Moya, Treat Huey

Singapore Slammers
Serena Williams, Andre Agassi, Tomas Berdych, Nick Kyrgios, Patrick Rafter, Daniela Hantuchova, Bruno Soares, Lleyton Hewitt

Indian Aces
Roger Federer, Pete Sampras, Sania Mirza, Rohan Bopanna, Gael Monfils, Ana Ivanovic, Fabrice Santoro

UAE Royals
Novak Djokovic, Goran Ivanisevic, Nenad Zimonjic, Eugenie Bouchard, Marin Cilic, Caroline Wozniacki, Malek Jaziri

With the popularity of tennis still at a nascent stage in most Asian and West Asian countries, the league will no doubt attract large crowds, and give most people a chance to see their tennis gods live in action. But it is difficult to view the league as more than a one-off promotional event, as it can do very little to promote the game at the grassroots level during the course of its short duration.

One of the top players' criticism over the last few years has been the gruelling tennis calendar of ATP and WTA. When Federer withdrew against Djokovic, one wasn't surprised. Along with leading Switzerland's challenge in the Davis Cup, Federer has played in 17 tournaments this year. At 33, you can't blame his body for giving way. In fact, most of the players will come into IPTL jaded after a tumultuous season. The tournament's short format will no doubt aid the players as they wouldn't have to slog on the court for long hours, but the organisers must ensure that the league is not reduced to a series of exhibition matches. It's pivotal that the league retains its competitive edge.

For Indian players like Mirza and Rohan Bopanna, the opportunity to be on the same team as Federer and Sampras will be something they'll relish. Mirza comes into the tournament with a successful season behind her when she won the US Open mixed doubles crown with Brazilian Bruno Soares - who will be playing for the Singapore Slammers - and WTA Tour Finals doubles title with Cara Black. She will be the most prominent Indian face in the league. "With the growing interest in tennis, this platform will give fans an opportunity to watch the best contemporary male and female players, along with past champions of the game. It will be good for the Indian game," says Bhupathi.

This week, Vijay Amritraj's Champions Tennis League (CTL) launched to a somewhat lukewarm response. CTL, based on a format similar to IPTL's, is looking to hone the skills of the future generation of Indian tennis players. Indian stars in the fray include India no. 1 Somdev Devvarman, Leander Paes and a whole host of young Indian players. Amritraj may have come out and said that there is no rivalry with IPTL and he in no way plans to challenge its might, but this season may inadvertently see a showdown between the two tennis leagues.

For ardent tennis fans in the Philippines, Singapore, India and the UAE, there will be no greater chance of watching their tennis superstars in action. The league will surely provide wholesome entertainment, but whether it will take the sport to a new level of popularity in these countries is something only time will tell.

TENNIS ANYONE?
Each match tie will consist of five single-set matches played in men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, mixed doubles and past champion singles

Tiebreaker
When the score reaches 5 games all, a 7-point tiebreaker decides the winner of the match

Power Point
Each team can call for a Power Point once in each single-set match when on the receiver's side, and the next point played will count for double. Effectively, a player trailing 0-15 can directly get to 15-30 by winning the Power Point