It was a festive atmosphere. The idea of the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) had sold like hot cakes in India. In reality, it was just the dress rehearsal, as the super stars Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Pete Sampras were yet to set foot on Indian soil, let alone be part of the vibrant atmosphere at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium on Saturday.
It did not matter that the UAE Royals overwhelmed Singapore Slammers 28-16, and provided an extended entertainment, as the rules made provision for continued play when the trailing team wins the last rubber. It was a huge amphitheatre and there was no dearth of entertainment. The music did not matter, nor did the cheers girls make much of an impact by twisting their body like gymnasts. The entertainment transcended everything.
The whole package was just too good. Indiscipline also helped in improving the atmosphere as the spectators in one spontaneous spell, descended to the better seats, from their higher perch. Nobody looked to mind, even though the difference between the cost of seats in the lower level to the corners of the top of the nice stadium, with a capacity of about 15,000, was quite a lot.
Maybe, the spectators would not get such a luxury when Roger Federer spearheads Micromax Indian Aces in the first match on Sunday at 4 p.m., playing the singles, doubles and mixed doubles. Every seat is expected to be taken by the rightful owners then!
In the absence of the big boys who have ruled world tennis in the last few decades, it was left to Goran Ivanisevic, Patrick Rafter, Lleyton Hewitt, Marin Cilic, Caroline Wozniacki, Daniela Hantuchova, Nick Kyrgios, Nenad Zimonjic to give a taste of the shortened form of entertainment to the friendly crowd that had assembled from across the country.
Of course, it was the former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic who stole the thunder and the hearts of the spectators with his fluent serves and interaction with the fans.
“Thank you for cheering me, I played incredible,” said the 43-year-old Ivansevic, in the post match interaction after beating Patrick Rafter 6-1 in the battle of the ‘legends’, much to the delight of the spectators. Ivanisevic had fired an ace, and pointed to the fan in the crowd who had shouted ‘love you Goran’ that it was for him.
The US Open champion Marin Cilic was too strong for the former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt who struggled initially to adjust to the speed and bounce of indoor carpet. Cilic was equally intimidating in the men’s doubles with the former world No.1 doubles player, Nenad Zimonjic, in racing away with the match 6-2 against Hewitt and Nick Kyrgios.
UAE Royals kept increasing the margin by winning the mixed doubles through Zimonjic and Kristina Mladenovic, against Kyrgios and Hantuchova. However, with Hantuchova winning the last rubber against another former world No.1, Carloine Wozniacki, the entertainment continued as the trailing team had the chance to bridge the gap if it happened to win the last rubber.
In the event, Wozniacki curtailed the extended work load on Hantuchova by winning one game to close the match out. It gave the spectators quite a lot of time to take ‘selfies’ to their heart’s content. There was a lot of music to keep the entertainment going till the next match which was scheduled an hour later.
The presence of Sania Mirza and Ana Ivanovic, warming up for their match, and joined by the other big boys, Jo Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils, kept everyone pleasantly occupied, even as heavy music drowned all the conversation.
There was not much to debate though, the IPTL was a roaring success, and it was just the beginning. In a packed calendar, to cut out a window and make a success of it, with so many super stars of the game, did project the brilliant vision of Mahesh Bhupathi.
The crowd was expected to make ‘loud’ noise in many situations, to ‘break the code’, but it was interesting to find Lara Dutta, Bhupathi’s wife, silencing the crowd with a friendly ‘shhhhhh’ when she was greeted vociferously during a rally, as she was spotted temporarily leaving the arena with her kid.
It was a fine blend of etiquette and noise, with the legends mixing with the youth to provide a heady concoction.
The results: UAE Royals bt Singapore Slammers 29-16 (Marin Cilic bt Lleyton Hewitt 6-3; Marin Cilic and Nenad Zimonjic bt Lleyton Hewitt and Nick Kyrgios 6-2; Goran Ivanisevic bt Patrick Rafter 6-1; Nenad Zimonjic and Kristina Mladenovic bt Nick Kyrgios and Daniela Hantuchova 6-4; Carloine Wozniacki lost to Daniela Hantuchova 4-6; Super time out: Wozniacki bt Hantuchova 1-0).
