It was a sight that no die-hard tennis lover would forget easily. The likes of former French Open champion Spaniard Carlos Moya, known as King of Clay , US Open and Wimbledon finalist Aussie Mark Philippoussis, former Australian Open finalist Marcos Baghdatis, and Hyderabad’s own Sania Mirza were in action at the final-leg of the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL).
For the holiday crowd, though sparse apparently because of the pricing of the entry tickets at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium on Sunday, it was a feast and a gentle reminder of the class of some of these players who are now well past their prime.
A trip down memory lane, but the players were still good enough to rekindle the magic of their yesteryears with some vintage strokes. The sliced backhand returns, the drops or the lobs from the deep, the interceptions at the net, and last not but the least, some of the stinging serves from Philippoussis and Moya were a treat to watch for those who assembled when Indian Aces and Singapore Slammers clashed in the finals.
Not the kind of encounter which would have delighted the hosts given the way Indian Aces lost the first three matches, including the much-awaited mixed doubles match featuring Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna, and eventually the final itself.
Then again, the results did not matter for the tennis connoisseurs. They seemed to enjoy the sheer magic from the rackets of some of these great players.
And, this was discernible when the sparse crowd burst into applause when local girl Sania, playing in a major event in front of the home crowd after more than a decade, showed her smartness at the net with a splendid interception and her famed forehand cross-court and down-the-line returns.
In a way, the biggest tennis event ever in Hyderabad also means some of the big names were here thanks to the initiative of Telangana IT Minister and president of Telangana Tennis Association K.T. Rama Rao. .
With the Minister extending an invite to Mahesh Bhupathi, who is the tournament director of IPTL, to set up an academy in the city, the fans expect many more such exciting tennis events in the future.
