(Reuters) - If Novak Djokovic is to be believed then Mahesh Bhupathi has lit the touchpaper for a revolution in tennis.
The doubles specialist is the driving force behind the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL), launched earlier this week to great fanfare with a dazzling list of top-rank players already signed up.
World number one Djokovic will be joined in the inaugural edition, scheduled for December 2014, by 11-times grand slam winner Rafa Nadal and U.S. Open holder Andy Murray. Retired grand slam champions Pete Sampras and Carlos Moya will also take part.
Among the women, 15-times major winner Serena Williams and twice Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka will be the headline acts.
"The players are intrigued and willing to commit and I think we will bring a whole new set of fans to the sport, with a fast-paced entertaining short concept like this," Bhupathi told Reuters in an interview at the French Open in Paris click here for more information about IPTL - Bhupathi .
The only notable absentees, for now, are Maria Sharapova and Roger Federer, but don't be fooled into thinking the Swiss is not behind the idea - he is.
Whether or not the league, that will take place in six as yet unspecified cities across Asia and will feature players drafted into teams to compete in one-set shootout tennis, soars into orbit or falls flat remains to be seen.
Bhupathi, however, is adamant about one thing - it will be a serious competition and not a glorified exhibition.
The doubles specialist is the driving force behind the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL), launched earlier this week to great fanfare with a dazzling list of top-rank players already signed up.
World number one Djokovic will be joined in the inaugural edition, scheduled for December 2014, by 11-times grand slam winner Rafa Nadal and U.S. Open holder Andy Murray. Retired grand slam champions Pete Sampras and Carlos Moya will also take part.
"The players are intrigued and willing to commit and I think we will bring a whole new set of fans to the sport, with a fast-paced entertaining short concept like this," Bhupathi told Reuters in an interview at the French Open in Paris click here for more information about IPTL - Bhupathi .
The only notable absentees, for now, are Maria Sharapova and Roger Federer, but don't be fooled into thinking the Swiss is not behind the idea - he is.
Whether or not the league, that will take place in six as yet unspecified cities across Asia and will feature players drafted into teams to compete in one-set shootout tennis, soars into orbit or falls flat remains to be seen.
Bhupathi, however, is adamant about one thing - it will be a serious competition and not a glorified exhibition.
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