Dubai: Legendary Pete Sampras has promised he will get ‘even better’ to ensure the success of the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) that gets under way at the Hamdan Sports Complex from Thursday.
Making his first-ever visit to the UAE for the fourth and final round of the IPTL, Sampras was all praise for the Mahesh Bhupathi-founded competition that involves four teams moving around as many cities before the ultimate champion is decided here on Saturday.
The holder of 14 grand slam titles and arguably one of the best all-court players ever, Sampras is a member of the Micromax Indian Aces who currently are in pole position for the inaugural crown. He made his debut with his franchise in New Delhi last week where he lost 2-6 against Patrick Rafter of the DBS Singapore Slammers.
“Delhi was very exciting last week and the fans were simply great. It was my first match and I was a bit rusty, so I took some time to get my head around the format. But now that I’ve played, I’m feeling better. The one thing about this competition is that you have to be just prepared from the first point on,” Sampras told media here.
“The tennis is for real and it’s ultra-competitive. I have been down there on court and I have seen how all the players want to win. It is very serious tennis out there,” he added.
Once again, Sampras will be up against Patrick Rafter in the past champions singles as the Indian Aces take on the Singapore Slammers in Thursday’s opening match at 4pm. “This is my first time in Dubai and it is also the first time that I will be playing on a swimming pool,” Sampras smiled.
The official press conference was delayed by nearly an hour after the flight from India arrived late due to fog in the Indian capital. Players such as Sampras and Fabrice Santoro had just enough time to drop off their baggage at the team hotel and rush to the Hamdan Sports Complex.
Sampras and Santoro were among the first to have a practice session on the special premier court surface that has been installed by Dubai-based Raymond Sport at the indoor complex that has had its capacity cut down to 7,000 for this event. The organisers have already sold more than 22,000 tickets for the three days of the competition.
Bhupathi has been excited with the progress of the league since it kicked off in Manila on November 28 before moving on to Singapore and New Delhi. “This has been an exciting venture where the players are excited and the fans are loving this,” Bhupathi said.
The former Indian doubles specialist backed the UAE Royals to win the league ahead of the Indian Aces. “I would have to pick the UAE Royals. They have a pretty good line-up that has Novak [Djokovic] and Marin [Cilic] and with the crowd behind them they are sure to have the advantage,” he confessed.
“We will try and mix the routine a bit so that the top two teams matchup in the last match on the last day [Saturday],” Bhupathi added.
Action will get under way with league leaders Indian Aces taking on cellar-placed Singapore Slammers at 4pm on Thursday, while the hosts UAE Royals will be up against the Manila Mavericks from 7.30pm.
