Mahesh Bhupathi's IPTL is no 'exhibition' tennis
It has been an exciting weekend for the diehard tennis fan in the capital. From the time Spanish legend Rafael Nadal interacted with kids at a clinic at the Delhi Lawn Tennis Association facility and wound up his India trip with the hugely billed contest against Roger Federer, it was intense all through.
Just imagine, for a country which does not have a rich tennis culture vis a vis producing Grand Slam singles champions, the mere sight of their icons was worth it. From Rafa to Roger and Goran Ivanisevic to Carlos Moya, each brought a rich legacy.
It was a collection of stars which made one swoon over the sheer variety of stuff which they have produced with the tennis racquet. Agreed, it was a mix between champions of this era and those who ruled before on clay (Moya) and grass (Ivanisevic), and some "extras" were also thrown in like in a Bollywood or Hollywood cast.
But there was no mistaking the seriousness with which they entertained the audience in the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL).
Those who could afford to fork out Rs 20,000 for the average ticket had saved months in advance.
For the pampered lot in the capital, which I call the "free pass" category, it was three evenings spent in the charged-up Indira Gandhi Stadium with free snacks to devour!
You cannot blame the city's lack of sporting culture for low spectator turnout. Maybe, if Mahesh Bhupathi decides to do something like what the Kotla did during the India-South Africa Test a week ago where kids from poorer schools were brought in, you can hope to fill up the venue.
But for those who relied on television sets to catch the action, it was good tennis education. For one, the format was very different from what one sees at ATP or WTA events or the Grand Slams.
In the IPTL, it's more about how a franchise puts together scores over different matches played - singles, doubles and mixed. Leander Paes, who had competed in the Champions Tennis League, a poor cousin of the IPTL last year, spoke about this event in his own way.
As one who has played plenty of club tennis, if the World Team Tennis could be called that, he preferred to describe the IPTL as exhibition tennis. I am not sure if these words were a hangover from the tennis he played earlier this month when he partnered legend Martina Navratilova against Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza in Kolkata and New Delhi.
If the IPTL is "exhibition" tennis, I see no reason why big corporate houses would be pumping in huge money to see this show put together. Leander may feel a bit offended he was not picked up by the Indian Aces ahead of other Indian players, but to call this exhibition tennis was out of place.
He said at the press conference on Thursday that he was being asked by Indian sponsors why he was not part of an Indian side. Maybe true, but the player draft policy for the teams works in such a way where the team owners know what value each player brings.
Sania Mirza was obviously a huge attraction by virtue of her performance on the circuit this year in partnership with Martina Hingis as they ended as No 1.
Rohan Bopanna is also a doubles star in his own right. The fact that these players gelled with the overseas stars was in itself a good sight for the Indian tennis fan.
Old timers used to watching best-of-three contests between the old rivals or even best-of-five at Grand Slams were still left craving for more from Federer and Nadal.
But for fans who got to see slower versions of Moya and Ivanisevic in action, it was turning the clock back by quite a few years. Talk of big servers like Marat Safin and Mark Philippoussis playing, they have slowed down but still bring with them lot of value.
Swede Thomas Enqvist was also part of the IPTL and Delhiites will remember him as the man who won the country's first ATP event at the DLTA in 1996.
Tennis fans and Leander have compared the IPTL with the master of all leagues - cricket's IPL. Yes, the IPL has seen the growth of many more sporting leagues in the country.
In terms of star value, to bring Federer and Nadal to India involved huge logistics and security apparatus in place. And the man who deserves praise for putting the show together is Mahesh Bhupathi.