FEDERER BRINGS THE MIDAS TOUCH, BUT A SENSE OF CAUTION TO THE IPTL

Written by: Staff on 9th December 2014

Indian leg of International Premier Tennis League

FEDERER BRINGS THE MIDAS TOUCH, BUT A SENSE OF CAUTION TO THE IPTL

epa04518891 Roger Federer of Indian aces in action against Singapore Slammers players Lleyton Hewitt and Nick Kygrious (unseen) during their Mens doubles match of the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) in New Delhi, India on 07 December 2014. The league features four teams made out of a hybrid mix of current and former men's and women's players. EPA/MONEY SHARMA |

There was no doubting that Roger Federer had the Midas touch when it came to the buzz for the IPTL as it touched down in India. From the moment he took the court the crowd were unstoppable as he took to the court in the mixed doubles, singles and men’s doubles and shone in all of them.

Surely this was the green light that the IPTL needed, along with gushing praise from Serena Williams at the end of the Singapore Sling, sorry, we mean Swing of course!

Serena Williams of the USA in action Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark during their match of the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) in Singapore, 04 December 2014. The IPTL, which features four teams made out of a hybrid mix of current and former men’s and women’s players, is on its second leg in Singapore, after starting in the Phillipines, and will continue in New Delhi and conclude in Dubai. EPA/WALLACE WOON

Much like some of the Winter Olympic sports, the IPTL has been gloriously bonkers in some of the rules. Towels of different colours flying onto the court for “Happiness Power Points”, timeouts, and none more so that the whacky rule of playing the last game for the win for the side that has already won!? No we don’t get it either, but that’s half the fun of this extended exhibition.

Federer labelled it ‘crazy but fun’, which must have been music to Mahesh Bhupathi’s ears, and with another couple of cities ready to join the current franchise, IPTL 2015 could be another big merry go-round of big names parachuting in to do a stint before getting on with the serious business of their winter training ahead of the new season.

Even Federer had perhaps cautionary words as well as thoroughly enjoying himself on court for the two days that he played. He said: “My mind was scrambling trying to remember all the rules. It’s crazy, but it’s good fun.”

But where Maria Sharapova was giving the shot clock the side-eye, there were a few things that the 17-time Grand Slam champion was not too fond of.

He added: “The one I think is most unnecessary here is when you start the motion and let’s say you miss the ball toss, that counts as a mistake.

Roger Federer of Indian aces in action against Singapore Slammers player Tomas Berdych during their Men’s singles of the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) in New Delhi, India on 07 December 2014. The league features four teams made out of a hybrid mix of current and former men’s and women’s players. EPA/MONEY SHARMA

“I think that’s probably most unnecessary. The way it is right now, I don’t think it will work as a Tour event. I’m very traditional and I like the way the game is on tour. I like the scoring system.”

There is no doubting that IPTL has been a success in terms of its location and reach to large numbers of fans, and the streaming and broadcast rights mean fans around the world have been able to dip in and enjoy the craziness. And let’s face it, they really had a coup with netting some of the best players to help kick it all off.

The proof of the (liqueur-soaked Christmas) pudding of course will be in next year’s tournament, its duration, locations and the player rosters. If we think of this as part of the tour, Federer’s comments really come home – the tour is business. This has been ‘crazy but fun’.

As an extended exhibition in the off-season, it has been great and fun for the players to be in a team, and to tour round. But when the season starts, let’s all get back to the business end of tennis.

Topics: IPTL, Mahesh Bhupathi, Maria Sharapova, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, tennis update

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10sBalls_com says:

December 9, 2014 at 4:26 pm

-@rogerfederer BRINGS THE #MidasTouch, BUT A SENSE OF CAUTION TO THE @iptl- http://t.co/QAJE6Y9DXR #tennis #Federer #IPTL