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IPTL 2015 - DUBAI, 16 December 2015 (Day 3) IP: 203.116.177.151 Posted on December 19, 2015 at 07:18:02 PM by David Barnes
INTERNATIONAL PREMIER TENNIS LEAGUE (IPTL)
2015 EDITION
DUBAI - DAY 3, 16 December 2015
The Indian Aces were on court this afternoon, against the Singapore Slammers, but Fabrice Santoro was still ailing, so Carlos Moya won his match on a walkover. Agnieska Radwanska then made reasonably short work of Andy Murray’s partner of yesterday evening, Belinda Bencic, 6-3, in front of a disappointingly small crowd, the hordes of yesterday’s night session having evaporated as a mirage in the far desert distance, swallowed up by the shifting sands of time and of IPTL player substitutions and replacements.
I was amused to read the following in a recent column by Marianne Bevis on the ‘SportReview’ website; “After such long, demanding seasons, what brings these players to IPTL? Many of the top men, for example, were in action right up to the wire at the World Tour Finals in London – Murray even went on to win three back-to-back Davis Cup matches. Part of the reason is, of course, the enthusiastic welcome of the fans, partly the pleasure of fresh horizons and cultures. But it is also in no small measure down to the format, which is not just fan-friendly but player-friendly, slotting easily into their pre-2016 training blocks.”
This is a singularly charitable – but partial - view of tennis players; with no mention of the money involved, it is also somewhat misleading. Frankly, what happens most of the time is that the player’s agent gets a call from the organisers, the agent works out whether it is worth the player’s time and effort to put in an appearance, and the deal is done. Player selection may appear whimsical, but if the money is right, the player will play, and for whichever team makes it most worth his or her while. This year, for the first time, players are obliged to stay with their team for two years at least.
The mixed doubles set this afternoon was huge fun – the Singapore Slammers, in the form of a ferociously competitive Dustin Brown and his teammate Karolina Pliskova edging the set 6-5, despite Rohan Bopanna replacing Ivan Dodig as Sania Mirza’s partner. The Slammers are looking to end the week in second position so that they can play the Indian Aces, the likely first place team, in the final in Singapore on Sunday, and unless there is a late run of form from the Philippine Mavericks, this is what will happen.
Andy Murray carried on his winning ways from last night, in the mens’ doubles today, partnering Marcelo Melo against Ivan Dodig and Bernard Tomic; he was strong, resolute, dynamic at the net, and he and Melo were easier winners than the 6-4 score-line suggests. He followed himself on court, as it were, and trounced Bernard Tomic 6-1 in the men’s singles (allowing Nick Kyrgios to take his place for the final game of the set, as allowed under IPTL rules).
At last, one felt, the ‘Break the Code’ excitement and hullabaloo was beginning to pay dividends for player and fan alike. Certainly the press conference afterwards, with Dustin Brown, Nick Kyrgios and Andy Murray, was a genial affair in which the three joked around and showed the kind of team spirit that has been one of the mantras of this whole IPTL Asian tour, as relentlessly promoted by the organisers, but which has seemed at times strangely forced. The most unintentionally amusing moment was when Kyrgios, who you may remember said some very rude things to Stan Wawrinka about the latter’s girlfriend back in the summer, was asked about how he felt about the end of the week in Singapore, when he and the Swiss Lothario will find themselves on the same team bench for the Slammers. “I’m going to do everything I can to warm him up, or whatever”, was the Australian’s enigmatic reply. Knowing him, the double entendre may well have been intended.
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David Barnes/Topspin, 2015
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