New teams for the inaugural edition of the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) have been reportedly grafted with World No. 1 Rafael Nadal set to represent Team Mumbai and World No.2 Novak Djokovic set to power Team Dubai and WTA star Serena Williams to represent Team Singapore.
Led by Indian doubles star Mahesh Bhupathi, team owners and IPTL organisers held a draft where a total sum of 23,975,000 dollars has been spent across four teams to be based in Bangkok, Mumbai, Dubai and Singapore.
According to Sport24, Bhupathi noted that out of the 28 players that got drafted they have about 21 Grand Slam champions apart from 14 present and past number ones and that it was a pretty blockbuster field.
Partly modeled after the financially successful Indian Premier League (IPL), the IPTL has been described by Djokovic as a "fantastic concept" while others like Roger Federer has been more cautious in his views on the idea.
The anticipated league would take place during the off-season of the tennis calendar, between November 27 and December 14, and feature 24 matches across the four host cities in the Middle East and Asia.
The league has been scheduled to start in Singapore, followed by Bangkok, Mumbai and will finally conclude in Dubai with each city hosting six matches in a three day period and each team having a regular roster and a travel roster that would have to include a minimum number of players from the different categories.
Team Singapore, set to play on November 28, 29 and 30, includes Tomas Berdych, Andre Agassi, Lleyton Hewitt, Serena Williams, Bruno Soares, Patrick Rafter, Daniela Hantuchova, and Nick Krygios.
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Team Bangkok, to play on December 2, 3, 4, includes Andy Murray, Jo Wilfred Tsonga, Victoria Azarenka, Daniel Nestor,Carlos Moya, Kirsten Flipkens.
Team Mumbai, to play on December 7, 8, 9, includes Rafael Nadal, Gael Monfils, Pete Sampras. Rohan Bopanna, Ana Ivanovic, Sania Mirza, Fabrice Santoro.
Team Dubai, set for December 11, 12, 13, includes Novak Djokovic, Caroline Wozniacki, Goran Ivanisevic, Janko Tipsarevic, Nenad Zimonic, Malek Jaziri, Martina Hingis, Regards.
