Chennai: “It’s a tall order,” says Vijay Amritraj referring to Mahesh Bhupathi’s proposed tennis league which is expected to start at the end of 2014. Even as Bhupathi, who is on the verge of retirement, is reportedly preparing for an auction of franchisees during the Australian Open, ATP Tour regulars and players seem to be in the dark about the IPL-style league.
World No.8 Stanislas Wawrinka is not so enthusiastic about the league. “I don’t know. They are talking about it for a few years, but so far nothing has happened,” said the Swiss star.
Though Vijay is impressed with the concept of big names representing city-based franchisees and playing home and away games, he has doubts about its sustainability.
“If it’s not economically feasible, whoever is doing it for the thrill of it has to be concerned about its longevity,” added Vijay, who was part of World Team Tennis played in the US during the 70s with the likes of Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King.
The biggest concern, however, is the top pros’ constant complaints about the ATP season being long. Benoit Paire, the fourth seed at the Chennai Open, says he doesn’t want to be a part of it even if it comes with monetary benefits.
“It’s a good concept, but taking rest and preparing for the new season are my priorities during the break. For tennis players, Wimbledon and Roland Garros come before anything else,” said Paire.
Though Bhupathi hasn’t revealed the blueprint of the league, reports suggest that there will be six teams and each one will have between seven and 10 players playing five matches on a home and away basis in six Asian cities.
Each match will comprise five sets, with no-advantage scoring. There will be one set of men’s singles, one set of women’s singles, one men’s doubles, one mixed doubles and one men’s legends singles.
Vijay says even if top players sign up for the league the event may not be as competitive as the Tour and it could become glorifed exhibition matches. “How do you pay enough money to someone who made around $70 million last year? And health is more important for these guys. Nobody wants to get injured by pushing themselves in the off-season.
Nothing should induce them to play when they are complaining about the length of the season. And if they are fine with playing extra two weeks, then they should not complain. You can’t have it both ways,” said Vijay.
“It can work, but I am not sure whether the top four guys would be playing in it.”
However, for players such as Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan, Bhupathi’s league is a dream. “I am not the guy who complaints about a long season. The format would change the face of tennis in Asia which has a lot of potential,” added Aisam.
ITPA planning a circuit of its own
ITPA planning a circuit of its own
Chennai: The Indian Tennis Players Association (Itpa) headed by Jaideep Mukherjea is planning to have a tennis circuit on its own consisting of four to five tournaments. “Having an own circuit will help us generate funds that can be used for players. All the leading players like Somdev, Leander, Mahesh and Sania are with us on this new venture,” said Mukherjea.
Itpa’s immediate plan is to hire a physio from abroad for those plying their trade in Challenger and Futures tournaments. The association, which was formed for the welfare of players, recently conducted a camp in Hyderabad by brining in trainers and coaches from abroad. Itpa secretary Karti P. Chidambaram, also a vice-president of Aita, said the body had already conducted a successful fundraising event.
Mukherjea said the association is open to take suggestions from players. “We are the representative of players and want to be accessible to them all the time. Our main objective is to help players reach higher positions in ATP and WTA rankings by supporting them in training and funding,” he added.
According to the former Davis Cup star, there is no conflict of interest between Aita and Itpa as they are two different associations catering to different segments. “While Aita is the association of states, Itpa is the association of players,” Mukherjea said.
