It was like a tennis fan's biggest geek out Sunday in Dubai, as the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) held its four-team draft for the bold endeavor's inaugural season, which will come at the end of 2014.
Per the IPTL's Twitter feed, the teams are as follows:
Bangkok - Andy Murray, Victoria Azarenka, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Carlos Moya, Daniel Nestor, Kirsten Flipkens.
Dubai - Novak Djokovic, Caroline Wozniacki, Goran Ivanisevic, Janko Tipsarevic, Nenad Zimonjic, Martina Hingis, Malek Jaziri.
Mumbai - Rafael Nadal, Pete Sampras, Ana Ivanovic, Gael Monfils, Rohan Bopanna, Sania Mirza, Fabrice Santoro.
Singapore - Andre Agassi, Serena Williams, Tomas Berdych, Lleyton Hewitt, Patrick Rafter, Daniela Hantuchova, Bruno Soares, Nick Kyrgios.
The league is the brainchild of Indian tennis doubles legend and Mahesh Bhupathi, who compared it to the Indian Premier League for cricket. The four teams will each play six matches. Each match will feature a men's and women's singles match, a men's and mixed doubles match and a men's legends singles match. Points will be awarded for each match won, much like in the US' popular World Team Tennis format.
A quick glance at the four rosters has Mumbai looking perhaps the most interesting. The largest city in India, Mumbai will have two native Indians - Bopanna and Mirza - on its squad, with Mirza born in Mumbai. Both Bopanna and Soares are doubles specialists, which could give Mumbai a big edge in the doubles competition, and Santoro, while hardly in the same league as Agassi and Sampras for the men's legends match, is known for his inventive play and trick shots, which could make a difference in close matches.
Four Asian cities - Bangkok, Dubai, Mumbai and Singapore - each have a team of current and former tennis greats, and will compete against each other in a three-week tournament from Nov. 28 - Dec. 20 of this year. Five Asian cities will serve as host sites.