A newcomer of the tennis scene is finally get underway- the International Premier Tennis League. Fans of tennis will love the new tournament, a shorter, less drawn out event that is set to prove a boon for those that love watching a little tennis on TV. There are loads of excellent names on the bill, though for tennis fans the specifics of the IPTL may be somewhat unknown. Here’s all you need to know about the new firebrand on the tennis scene.
It’s somewhat of a surprise that the IPTL is even occurring at all. Set right bang in the middle of the tennis off-season; already very short thanks to the multitude of other competitions running throughout the year; many stars, advocates of a longer off-season, would be seen as hypocrites if they were to compete. Luckily though, organisers have managed to get a number of the big names in the game (likely thanks to a rather large golden hello) including Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, Andy Murray and Serena Williams.
The star-driven league features four teams- the Indian Aces (Federer, Monfils, Ivanovic, Mirza, Sampras, Santoro and Bopanna), the Manila Mavericks (Murray, Tsonga, Sharapova, Flipkens, Moya, Nestor and Huey), the Singapore Slammers (Soares, Williams, Hantuchova, Agassi, Kyrgios, Hewitt, Berdych and Rafter) and the UAE Royals (Djokovic, Zimonjic, Ivanisevic, Bouchard, Wozniacki, Jaziri and Cilic). As one might have guessed, the matches will take place in the four countries of which the teams are named after, these taking place in the following locations- the Indira Ghandi Indoor Stadium, Mall of Asia Arena, Singapore Indoor Stadium and Hamdan Sports Complex. Players will compete in the different countries, between their different teams, throughout the League.
With so many massive names, those who love tennis will likely be finding it hard to pick their favourites. Fans should try out bettingsports if they need help! On that site, the ‘where to bet’ section is a godsend, comparing odds from a huge variety of providers and thus really helping you ensure your picks are the best ones!
There’s plenty of categories of matches being held throughout the league; men’s and women’s single and doubles, plus past champions’ singles will be held. In each game five sets will occur and breaks between points will be constricted to a mere twenty seconds, thus meaning each match will be a nail-biting watch for excited fans!
After this weekend’s action in Manila, play continues December 2-4 (Singapore), December 6-8 (India) and December 11-13 (UAE) and the champion will win $1,000,000 in prize money!
US tennis viewers can go to www.GFL.TV to order matches on pay-per-view and online.
