By Gianna G. Maniego
Whether you’re a bona fide tennis fan or a social butterfly with FOMO issues, you probably trained your eyes on the recent big ticket attraction: the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL).
It’s OK, much of Metro Manila did too.
Now on its second year, the IPTL is a five-leg tournament that brings together some of the biggest stars in the ATP and WTA galaxies to various home teams/countries. Last year, top-drawer superstars like Andy Murray, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic, Gael Monfils, Marin Cilic and Tomas Berdych graced the Mall of Asia Arena to play for teams like the UAE Royals, Indian Aces, Singapore Slammers, and our very own Philippine Mavericks.
This year many of those superstars came back to wow tennis fans anew. With the addition of a fifth team, the Japan Warriors, top 10 players, such as Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori beefed up the roster.
Leading the pack were 14-Grand Slam titlist and former men’s world No. 1 player Rafael Nadal and current women’s world No. 1 Serena Williams, a retuning IPTL player.
Williams, who debuted in the IPTL playing for the Singapore Slammers last year, returned this year wearing the blue colors of the Philippine Mavericks. Nadal, a first timer in the IPTL, suited up for the Indian Aces. To say that fans (and nonfans) went gaga over the sight of these superstars is a bit of an understatement—and that’s not really a joke.
Nadal, especially, has been a much-awaited superstar among Filipinos who have been worshipping him from afar—ever since he burst on the scene with his bandanna-wrapped hair, sleeveless muscle shirts and loose “puruntong” shorts (in sharp contrast to the crisp whites of players like Roger Federer.)
And, of course, Williams returning this time to play for the home team was an equally compelling attraction.
Needless to say, tickets to the three-day event were as rare and precious as taxicabs during rush hour. Thankfully, friends at PLDT Home scrounged up a couple so we managed to catch a piece of the action.
RAFA IN THE HOUSE
Truth be told, all the players this year were fighting fit, which is probably why the matches were more evenly fought. It was certainly a far cry from last year’s lethargic performances that saw lopsided outcomes. It’s obvious these guys are taking this off-season tournament seriously. Drawing appreciative cheers from the crowd were returning stars like Tomas Berdych, Nick Kyrgios, Mark Philippoussis and Goran Ivanisevic, not to mention homeboy Treat Huey, who made everyone in the tennis world pay attention for masterfully steering the Mavericks in last year’s tournament. The Mavericks, this year captained by Philippoussis, were second to the Aces going into the last day of the Manila leg.
Nadal, who gamely smiled and waved to the energetic crowd, before settling into his warm-up routine was himself in fine form. He looked relaxed, loose and extremely confident, with none of the tentativeness he showed at some points during the previous season. He seemed happy to be interacting with his teammates, which, aside from the Davis Cup, is something tennis players rarely get the chance to do (and is one of the reasons these tennis stars like playing in the IPTL)
He seemed oblivious to calls of “Rafa I love you,” “Rafa marry me” (and at one point, a particularly resounding “Rafa be my daddy” from a kid in the lower box), until he inadvertently caused an arena-wide heart attack while changing his shirt before his doubles match. The collective gasp that followed this virtuoso chest-baring was probably akin to a religious experience for the fans. I half-expected the people in the next row to genuflect and make the sign of the cross. (I exaggerate, of course, but not by much.) The King of Clay must’ve noticed the reverential silence because he hunkered down and immediately put on his shirt before making a dash for the locker room (kind of too late); he emerged just before his match started.
Everything else seemed meh after that. At least, until the last match, which had Nadal up against Canadian wunderkind Milos Raunic.
The evening matches on the last day pitted the No. 1 team, defending champions Indian Aces, against the current No. 2 team, Philippine Mavericks. The teams were evenly matched going into the men’s single, the last leg in the contest, with Williams drawing the lagging Mavericks to within one point with a 6-3 win over former Australian Open winner Sam Stosur, and setting up the men’s single as the deciding contest.
As expected the crowd went with Nadal in the early stages, thinking the match would be a walkover.
But Raunic’s big serves soon had them changing their minds. Pretty soon, the bipolar crowd was shouting “Go Milos” just as loudly as they were shouting “Go Rafa” minutes earlier. It was a see-saw match with advantage going both ways. Raunic broke Nadal in the third game, Nadal broke back three games after. At 5-all, the match went into a shootout, which was tight all throughout. The end came when, at 6-all, Rafa’s shot went long and was called out, giving the Mavericks the win and the advantage going into the Indian leg of the tournament. A great showing for the Philippine Mavericks, ending on the highest of high.
What’s interesting is that while many of the fans came to the games to watch Rafa, a lot of them left the arena talking about Milos.