Andy Murray has been confirmed as one of a number of star
names included in the draft for the inaugural International Premier Tennis
League (IPTL).
The IPTL will be played in Asia in November and December
at the end of the regular 2014 season and will feature five teams based in Hong
Kong, Mumbai, Singapore, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur playing home and away.
The two-time Grand Slam champion will be joined in
Sunday's draft event in Dubai by fellow current stars like Novak Djokovic,
Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka plus past greats such as
Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.
Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova and Li Na are the most
notable absentees to participate in a draft of 70 male and female players in
Dubai.
The players, put into different categories according to
their status and market values, will go up for auction.
Nadal, Djokovic and Murray are listed as 'Icon Players'
along with Stanislas Wawrinka, Agassi and Sampras, as well as women's world No
1 Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka and Caroline Wozniacki.
There is also a 'Past Champions' category, featuring
eight former tour stars, including Pat Rafter, the former US Open champion.
Four more categories
In addition, there are four more categories of current
tour players, while a handful of doubles players will also feature in the draft
for the tournament.
"I think it's a fantastic concept if it happens,
obviously," said Djokovic on Thursday. "I hope and I believe it will.
"It's going to promote tennis in the Asian part of
the world. That is a huge market. It's a fun concept. It lets the players enjoy
themselves on court and off court together.
"It's something that we don't get to see that much,
the team concept. It's not that easy to realise, because it's a huge programme
and project. Hopefully, I'm going to try to be part of it."
The IPTL was set up by former doubles specialist Mahesh
Bhupathi and the matches will be over the best of five sets, with each set to
be played in a different format - men's singles, women's singles, men's
doubles, mixed doubles and men's legends.
The event will be played between November 28 and December
20.
Culled from Skysports
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