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The three days carnival called International Premier Tennis League (IPTL), replicates the festival atmosphere just like IPL. So the DJs are busy playing loud Punjabi film hits after every set, kids continue to shout 'Roger Roger', even after the referee has put on the silence bell. And there is a huge rush in the dinner lounge where drinks, potato chips and even Italian food is on offer for those who have the privelege to be sitting in the corporate boxes.
But for Indians, especially thousands of young aspiring tennis aspirants, who are starved of watching any major international tennis tournaments live, this is a life time opportunity. After all India is not in the big grand slam network at all.
For many of the young boys and girls who play tennis, there was disbelief and euphoria that they were being able to see their dream players in action in a stadia- Roger Federer, Peter Sampras and Novak Djokovic in the centre court under one roof in a single day. Or when they would see the clash of the titans –when Federer will take on Djokovic in the singles today. Or just being a ball boy or girl to closely watch the masters of the game play.
That IPTL has been able to attract enthusiasts to come to the stadia to see a match, rather than on TV is reflected in the fact that nearly three fourths of the Indira Gandhi Indoor stadium in Delhi was full on the second day, despite the fact that ticket prices were very steep from Rs 3,000 to Rs 60,000 a piece. But tennis is not a poor man’s game either and for many parents who had bought in their kids aspiring to be the next tennis star –it was also a reiteration that choosing sports over just studies was not a bad choice.
But can IPTL be India’s answer to what IPL was to cricket? If industry is to be believed, the organisers have been able to rustle up around Rs 20 crore from sponsors. This includes title sponsors like Coke for the global tournament which is being held in four countries. But it has also paid large sums to the star players like Federer (Rs 7 crore ) and the total amount forked out on players is around Rs 25 crore.
But fundamentally the two are different. IPL through the eight city teams within India has been able to create and nuture loyal fan followers within their locations.
IPTL is a global tennis event with just one Indian team (other teams are from Singapore, UAE and Manila). And the Indian team also has only one Indian star in Sania Mirza, while its star players are Federer and Sampras. Fans are coming to see matches not due to loyalty to the Indian team but to see their stars at play even if Novak is playing for a rival team. So the Micromax Indian Aces team hardly will have any large loyal fan base.
Two, IPL makes over Rs 725 crore from selling television rights with millions glued to their TV sets and that is the big source for money for the tournament organisers BCCI. In IPTL, tennis fans are already exposed to the best global tennis tournaments in the world which are beamed live in India. So their expectation from IPTL is different: it is to see their stars live in a stadia. That explains why Star TV has forked out a nominal amount to get the broadcasting rights.
In simple terms, IPTL is a carnival of the world’s best players in tennis. They obviously won’t be playing their best in the tournament which is outside the ranking calendar. But for many in the country this is perhaps the only opportunity to dance with the stars.
