Nadal, Djokovic, Serena, Agassi, Sampras to play in Manila for tennis team event

By Bob Guerrero | The Passionate Fan | Fly with Yaris  – Sat, May 10, 2014 7:34 PM PHT

Tennis' leading lights plus heroes from yesteryear are coming to Manila this November when the International Premier Tennis League kicks off its inaugural season.

The innovative new concept, the brainchild of Indian doubles tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi, will finally break ground after the tennis season with a star-studded lineup of top men and women players.

Just like the FIBA Asia tilt that was fortuitously plopped on our lap because of turmoil near the original host, Lebanon, the IPTL, originally slated to be in Bangkok, Thailand, has been moved to the Philippines because of political unrest in the Thai capital.

Manila will now be one of four cities alongside Singapore, Dubai, and Mumbai, who will have a franchise as well as host matches from November 28 to mid-December. And the Philippine team will be pretty loaded too.

The Manila team will feature Andy Murray of Scotland, a singles champ at Wimbledon and at the U.S. Open, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, Spanish veteran Carlos Moya, Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, Canadian Doubles specialist Daniel Nestor, and Filipino-American Treat Huey. Each team will get anywhere from seven to ten players.