Federer roped in by IPTL

Roger Federer may be on the last lap of his phenomenal tennis career but he remains one of the biggest draws in any part of the world. For him to touchdown in Delhi and swing his racquet with that touch of class will be an experience to savour for a lifetime for the fans.

The Swiss champion will replace Rafael Nadal, who has been nursing an injured right wrist since Wimbledon and had also pulled out of the US Open last month. The Spaniard’s withdrawal was a setback for the inaugural league but the organisers pulled off a master stoke by bringing Federer on board.

The 17 times Grand Slam champion was signed up during the US Open for the Indian team of the high-profile tennis league, founded by India’s doubles star Mahesh Bhupathi and offering $1 million prize money.

“When I was talking to the players a year and half ago, Roger was expecting his set of twins. I don’t think he could be making too many commitments at that point. Obviously now he is very sure about his schedule and we are very happy to have him play for India,” Bhupathi told reporters on Monday.

“When you are talking of profile as high as Rafa Nadal, there was probably only one name that could have helped ease the pain (of his pullout) and for us fortunately Roger was available.” Federer, who is also the marquee player, joins 14-time Grand Slam champion Pete Sampras, Gael Monfils, Ana Ivanovic, Sania Mirza, Rohan Bopanna and Fabrice Santoro in the Indian franchise. The team was earlier was to be based in Mumbai but has been now shifted to the capital.

The Indian leg will be played at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here from December 6th - 8th.
Bhupathi was confident of the league’s success and expected franchises in India and Philippines to break even at the earliest. “I think India and Manila will probably break even before Dubai and Singapore because these are the markets where these kind of stars have not been seen before.

Singapore and Dubai are mature markets. Singapore has the WTA Championship there and Dubai has the Dubai Open. “I think a lot of people have been trying for many years to come up with some sort of league. Some three years ago, there was speculation about World Cup of tennis, but it didn't materialise. Now we have big stars in our league. I think we have all the ingredients to succeed.”

The four-team league, to be played from November 28 to December 13, has franchises from India (India Aces), Philippines (Manila Mavericks), Singapore (Singapore Slammers) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE Royals), each hosting a leg of the competition.

The organisers are also planning to add a fifth franchise from Asia next year. “We will be adding one more team by next year. The maximum we think we can have is eight teams which may happen by 2017- 18  as there is a very limited time we can play outside the professional calendar,” the IPTL chief operating officer, Eric Gottschalk, said.