Sharapova, Murray to banner Manila Mavericks in IPTL

MANILA, Philippines – Tennis superstar Maria Shapova is about to take Manila by storm.

One of the hottest and finest female tennis players today, Sharapova will not only show up but will lead the Manila team dubbed as the Mavericks in the inaugural International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) which will open on Nov. 28-30 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Sharapova , a five-time Grand Slam singles champion, will banner the Manila team alongside the world’s current no. 10 player Andy Murray of Great Britain.

The Mavericks team will also feature Jo-Wilfred Tsonga of France, former world no. 1 Carlos Moya of Spain, doubles specialist Daniel Nestor of Canada, Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium and Davis Cupper and top Philippine player Treat Huey.

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“To have the best players in the world competing in this unique team tennis competition will only encourage more players to take up tennis and help develop the sport in the country,” said Paranaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez, who is also the president of Philippine Tennis Association during the press launch at the Shangri-La Hotel in Mandaluyong on Thursday.

The Manila Mavericks will compete against three other teams – Singapore Slammers, UAE Royals and Indian Aces – all bannered by the other world’s top players and legends.

Singapore will be led by 17-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams alongside legend Andre Agassi, Tomas Berdych, Lleyton Hewitt, Nick Kyrgios, Daniela Hantuchova, Bruno Soares and Patrick Rafter.

UAE will feature seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Novak Djokovic, Caroline Wozniacki, Janko Tipsarevic, Malek Jaziri, Richard Gasquet, Nenad Zimonijc and Goran Ivanisevic.

India, meanwhile, will have 14-time Grand Slam singles champion Rafael Nadal and the tennis great Pete Sampras, Gael Monfils, Ana Ivanovic, Sania Mirza, Rohan Bopanna and Fabrice Santoro.

All four teams will play in unique format true to IPTL’s motto of “break the code”.

Patterned after the Indian Cricket League, the IPTL format will allow the four teams to play each other in every tour stop. There will be a total of two ties per day with each consists of a men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, mixed doubles and the twist which pits former champions in a singles match.

“It’s time for innovations in tennis similar to what the IPL has done in cricket,” said IPTL founder and India’s doubles legend Mahesh Bhupathi.

Bhupati also shared new tweaks such as players calling for timeout in the middle of the game, announcing a “power point”, a running shot clock and a seven-point shootout to decide the winners of each match if necessary, and many more features which will “break the code” to make the tournament exciting and more TV-friendly.

After the Manila leg, the tournament will shift to Singapore on Dec. 2-4, Delhi on Dec. 6-8 and the last stop will be in Dubai on Dec. 11-13.

IPTL COO Eric Gottschalk said that they are looking to expand to five teams next year and eventually settle with eight teams in the near future.

Gottschalk withheld to name the Manila Mavericks franchisee pending final negotiations but assured the fans that Sharapova and Murray will be in Manila along with the other stars while two to three top players from each of the three teams are guaranteed to compete in the first leg. Williams and Berdych have already expressed their commitment to fly to Manila.

“It’s a consortium but I can’t tell you right now. They are still finalizing the paperworks. In two weeks, they are going to make announcements,” Gottschalk said.