THE BIGGEST tennis event to be staged in the country officially opens today with the three-day Manila leg of the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) unfurling at the Mall of Asia Arena.
An innovative tournament with tweaks introduced in scoring, tie-breaks and playing time, among others, the IPTL is expected to showcase top-level tennis play with some of the best players in the world in tow.
Far from the tennis bastions of London, New York and Paris, ties will be played in Manila, Singapore, New Delhi and Dubai, representing new frontiers for the sport.
But what most defines the Asia-focused IPTL is its adventurous format: team ties consisting of five one-set matches, with no advantages and the first to six games wins.
Tennis heads into a brave new era this weekend when the IPTL debuts its fast-paced, TV-friendly format which is already making waves in the sport.
Skepticism has mingled with curiosity in the build-up to the team event, which will dramatically shorten matches and aims to jazz up tennis as a spectacle by adding DJs and dancers.
In the IPTL four teams from four cities will compete in a series of round-robin matches for men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, mixed doubles and a legend’s singles across four cities -- Manila, Singapore, Delhi and Dubai.
A 20-second shot-clock between points guarantees quick play, and at 5-5, players go into a timed shoot-out in which they must accumulate the most points before time is up.
Players can also call a “power point” once per set, meaning the next point will count double.
A winning prize of $1 million is at stake in the tournament, highlighting that it is a real competition and far from being an exhibition.
Representing Manila, known as the Mavericks, are five-time women’s Grand Slam singles champion Maria Sharapova of Russia, world top 10 player Andy Murray of Great Britain, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, Carlos Moya of Spain, Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium, Daniel Nestor of Canada and Filipino-American Treat Huey. Huey serves as the team’s playing coach.
The Singapore Slammers feature Serena Williams of the United States, Nick Kyrgios and Patrick Rafter of Australia, Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic, and Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia. Australia’s Davis Cup coach Josh Eagle serves as coach.
The Indian Aces, meanwhile, have the likes of Roger Federer of Switzerland, Gael Monfils and Fabrice Santoro of France and Ana Ivanovic of Serbia. Santoro is player-coach.
Lastly, the United Arab Emirates Royals include Novak Djokovic of Serbia, Eugenie Bouchard of Canada and Goran Ivanisevic of Croatia. South Africa Davis Cup coach John-Laffnie De Jager is at the helm.
Organizers, however, pointed out that for the first year the marquee players have limited commitment. Thus, some of them are not going to be present in all of the legs.
For the Manila leg, expected to see action are Sharapova, Murray and Williams.
Apart from the tournament proper, a series of tennis clinics will be conducted with the help of the visiting tennis stars.
INNOVATIVE
A brainchild of Indian doubles legend Mahesh Bhupati, the IPTL is a new wave tournament designed to make the game more fast-paced and attractive to tennis aficionados and even to those who are not.
Among the “changes” made for the tournament are players calling for a timeout in the middle of games, a running shot clock and a seven-point shootout, if needed, to decide winners of matches.
“The IPTL is different and something refreshing,” Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) vice-president and Asian Tennis Federation director Randy Villanueva told BusinessWorld in an interview.
He said they at Philta are involved on the technical side of the IPTL, which includes providing the ball kids, technical officials and assisting in the scheduled IPTL clinics.
Villanueva said they expect “interest in the sport to increase” with the IPTL and the many stars playing in it even as they view as a “very good sign” big companies getting involved in the staging of the event.
The entire IPTL competition in the Philippines will have two matches each day: 4 p.m. -- India vs. Singapore and 7:30 p.m. -- Manila vs. UAE (Nov. 28); 4 p.m. -- UAE vs. Singapore and 7:30 p.m -- Manila vs. India (Nov. 29); and 4 p.m. -- UAE vs. India and 7:30 p.m. -- Manila vs. Singapore (Nov. 30).
Ticket prices range from P2,900 for General Admission and P58,500 for VIP for the three-day pass. Tickets are transferable.
After the Manila leg, the IPTL will have stops in Singapore on Dec. 2-4, Delhi on Dec. 6-8, and Dubai on Dec. 11-13.
No comments:
Post a Comment