DUBAI // With "Break the Code" as their motto, the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) is hoping to follow the path of cricket's Indian Premier League (IPL) and bring about a revolution in their sport.
Having attracted a mix of current stars and legends such as Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Serena Williams, Ana Ivanovic, Victoria Azarenka, Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Martina Hingis, the IPTL is, like the IPL, seeking to take tennis to a wider audience through a new format and a heavy dose of entertainment.
“We want to break away from the traditional etiquettes of tennis to attract a new audience to the sport,” Mahesh Bhupathi, the founder and managing director of the IPTL, said on Tuesday.
Bhupathi and his team have come up with a format that will see the four franchise-owned teams – Manila Mavericks, Singapore Slammers, Indian Aces and UAE Royals – battle across four nations for the prize purse of US$1 million (Dh3.67m).
Starting in the Philippines on November 28, the teams will face each other at every venue, with each tie consisting of five single-set matches – men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, mixed doubles and past champions singles.
Every time a player wins a game in a match, their team will get one point. The team that wins the most games at the end of the five matches wins the tie.
Among other innovations, each team can call a power point, once in each match, which means the next point played will count as double. If the set is tied at 5-5, there will be a seven-point shoot-out.
“We have changed the traditional scoring format to speed up the games and allow us to expose up to 24 different players in one evening,” Bhupathi said. “On the broadcasting side, they will, for the first time, be able to schedule predictable starting and finish times of each match.
“I think we do have a problem vis-à-vis tennis. If you look at TV broadcasts, we cannot control the time of a match and, the way the Tour is structured, change can never happen because it is owned by the players and the tournaments.
“So, here we are going to show them something different and it may change everyone’s mindset. It was time for innovations in tennis and, similar to what the IPL has done in cricket, I imagine the IPTL will for tennis. “I think the world is moving towards a lot of short-format content when it comes to sport and we are trying to pick up that trend. So fingers crossed.”
The fourth and final round of the IPTL will be held in Dubai from December 11-13 at the Hamdan Sports Complex and officials from Tennis Emirates and the Dubai Sports Council were really excited about the event.
“Congratulations to the IPTL for conceptualising such a unique sports product and the Dubai Sports Council is proud to partner with the organisers to make this a great success,” Dr Ahmed Sharif, the general secretary of the Dubai Sports Council, said at the news conference where the Dubai Royals team owners – Sachin Gadoya, Sawan Ravani, Rahul Saharia, Kaushal Majithia, Chirag Vora and Kunal Bansal – were present.
Abdulrahman Falaknaz, the vice-president of Tennis Emirates, said he thought the tournament could spur participation in tennis in the UAE.
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Griselda
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Naga
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ACL Elite (West) - fixtures
Monday, Sept 30
Al Sadd v Esteghlal (8pm)
Persepolis v Pakhtakor (8pm)
Al Wasl v Al Ahli (8pm)
Al Nassr v Al Rayyan (10pm)
Tuesday, Oct 1
Al Hilal v Al Shorta (10pm)
Al Gharafa v Al Ain (10pm)
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies direct from Dubai to Rio de Janeiro from Dh7,000 return including taxes. Avianca fliles from Rio to Cusco via Lima from $399 (Dhxx) return including taxes.
The trip
From US$1,830 per deluxe cabin, twin share, for the one-night Spirit of the Water itinerary and US$4,630 per deluxe cabin for the Peruvian Highlands itinerary, inclusive of meals, and beverages. Surcharges apply for some excursions.
Company%C2%A0profile
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Honeymoonish
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Match info
Costa Rica 0
Serbia 1
Kolarov (56')
The specs
Price: From Dh529,000
Engine: 5-litre V8
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Power: 520hp
Torque: 625Nm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.8L/100km
Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
DAY%20ONE%20RESULT
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Company%20Profile
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Revival
Eminem
Interscope
RIDE%20ON
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Getting%20there%20and%20where%20to%20stay
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ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures
October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
THE LOWDOWN
Photograph
Rating: 4/5
Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies
Director: Ritesh Batra
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae