TENNIS LEAGUE STARTS THIS WEEKEND , CHECK OUT THE TEAMS & PLAYERS : RAFTER , FEDERER , SHARAPOVA , MURRAY , IVANOVIC , SERENA & MORE

Written by: Staff on 29th November 2014

TENNIS LEAGUE STARTS THIS WEEKEND , CHECK OUT THE TEAMS & PLAYERS : RAFTER , FEDERER , SHARAPOVA , MURRAY , IVANOVIC , SERENA & MORE

epa04437284 Roger Federer of Switzerland in action during his second round match against Leonardo Mayer of Argentina at the Shanghai Tennis Masters in Shanghai, China, 08 October 2014. EPA/DIEGO AZUBEL |

IPTL Begins This Weekend

Past complaints about the length of the tennis season will be conveniently shoved aside as the International Professional Tennis leagues begins a 15-day inaugural season featuring teams in four Asian cities at the weekend.

Andy Murray of Great Britain hits a return to Andrey Kuznetsov of Russia during the sixth day of the 2014 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 30 August 2014. The US Open runs through 08 September, a 15-day schedule. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO

The tennis traveling circus of will begin its run in the Philippines, with Andy Murray signed to play three matches for the Manila Mavericks before bolting for the US and a regular December training block in Miami.

The IPTL, a hybrid mix of current and former men’s and women’s players with a few legends tossed into the pool, also fields squads in India, Singapore and Dubai. The Manila weekend is billed as the biggest tennis event in the country since a 1989 exhibition between Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe.

The opening-day program features the Mavericks versus the UAE Royals and the Singapore Slammers facing the Indian Aces. Murray’s teammates are due to include: Filipino-American player-coach Treat Huey, Carlos Moya, Maria Sharapova, Kirsten Flipkens, Daniel Nestor, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who suffered with an elbow injury during last week’s Davis Cup finals loss to Switzerland.

All teams have “drafted” top players, most of whom will fly in from Europe or North America for a few days to collect big-money paychecks before heading home. Singapore is set to field Serena Williams, Nick Kyrgios, Patrick Rafter, Tomas Berdych and Daniela Hantuchova. The Indian Aces have Roger Federer, Gael Monfils and Ana Ivanovic. The Dubai side feature Novak Djokovic and Goran Ivanisevic.

Serena Williams of the US hits a return to Ekaterina Makarova of Russia during their semifinals round match on the twelfth day of the 2014 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 05 September 2014. The US Open runs through 08 September, a 15-day schedule. EPA/JUSTIN LANE

The league, first announced 18 months ago by former Indian doubles player Mahesh Bhupathi, will showcase an abbreviated one-set format designed to please tennis consumers in the region and get the day’s play done after around six hours.

Rafael Nadal had been on the player list but withdrew due to appendix surgery this month; after careful consideration (and certainly, remuneration), Federer agreed to play a weekend’s worth of matches for India December 6-8 as he makes a second visit to the country.

“I was not going to play really, I was going to see how the first year played out,” said the Swiss No. 2. “I’m hopeful that it’s going to be a success. It’s nice to have exhos. It gives players a great opportunity to spend the offseason doing something they enjoy doing, you know: making a show out of tennis.”

While team owners and organizers say the league is serious tennis, most of the major names are contracted for just a few matches each. In early negotiations, legend Andre Agassi reportedly said he was not available this week due to Thanksgiving.

Content via Bob Larson tennis news service

Topics: Ana Ivanovic, Andy Murray, IPTL, Maria Sharapova, Pat Rafter, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Tennis

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10sBalls_com says:

November 26, 2014 at 9:33 am

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10sBalls_com says:

November 29, 2014 at 3:52 pm

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