Some of the biggest names in the tennis world are about to head to Manila.
Maria Sharapova and Andy Murray will be playing for the Philippines when the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) holds its inaugural leg at the Mall of Asia Arena.
International tennis superstars are set to have matches at MOA Arena from November 28 to 30, 2014.
Sharapova and Murray are part of the team called Manila Mavericks, which also includes teammates Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, Kirsten Flipkens, Daniel Nestor, Carlos Moya and top Philippines player Treat Huey. The 28-year-old Huey is considered the top Filipino tennis player to date.
During the three-day extravaganza, the Manila Mavericks will take on the UAE Royals, Singapore Slammers and Indian Aces. The winning team will get the USD$1 million prize.
Representing the Singapore Slammers are tennis greats Serena Williams, Tomas Berdych, Daniela Hantuchova, Lleyton Hewitt, Patrick Rafter and Nick Kyrgios.
The Indian Aces Team will have Gael Monfils, Ana Ivanovic, and Fabrice Santoro.
Members of the UAE Royals that will come to Manila include Eugenie Bouchard, Richard Gasquet, and Goran Ivanisevic.
The IPTL introduces a new format in which each match consist of 5 sets played in different formats by different players (men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, mixed doubles and former Champions’ singles) and where each game won counts as one point for the team point’s total. The team that wins the most games overall, across the five sets, wins the match.
Fans will see players calling for “time-outs” in the middle of a game, announcing a “power point” and play a “shoot out” to decide the winners of each match as well as a running shot clock.
From September 1-15, interested parties may avail of the “Early Bird” discount. During this period, each three-day pass will be sold for as low as P2500 (General Admission) to as high as P49,000 (VIP section including red carpet entry).
Each three-day pass entitles the holder to watch 2 daily matches, which will start at 4:00 pm and 7:30 pm local time, each day.
MATCH SCHEDULE
28 November 2014
4:00 pm India vs Singapore
7:30 pm Manila vs UAE
29 November 2014
4:00 pm UAE vs Singapore
7:30 pm Manila vs India
30 November 2014
4:00 pm UAE vs India
7:30 pm Manila vs Singapore