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The third leg of the Coca-cola International Premier Tennis League will start in New Delhi on Thursday, and all the tennis fans in this cricket-loving country are thrilled beyond measure. The fact that international tennis superstars like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Ana Ivanovic, Marat Safin and Goran Ivanisevic will play in the Delhi leg has garnered monumental attention from the Indians, in a way that perhaps very few people expected.
The Indian Aces have always had a popular team, even among neutrals; Sania Mirza and Gael Monfils can light up any venue with their effervescence, and Fabrice Santoro's crowd-pleasing tricks are the stuff of legend. But the addition of Nadal to the squad has taken things to a whole new level.
Trending
The frenzy has reached to such an extent that #1DayToCocaColaIPTL was the most trending hashtag in India on Twitter today. Fans from all around the country are expressing their excitement on the social media website, giving the Aces a thoroughly warm-hearted welcome.
(For tickets to the Indian Aces matches, click here).
The successful Indian Aces come home
The Indian Aces, who are also the defending champions of the tournament, will definitely get a lot of support from the passionate Delhi crowd at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium. The Aces have had a brilliant 2015 season too as they lie atop the standings, despite having played a match less than rest of the pack. The games won percentage for the Aces is 54.4% with the second placed team Philippine Mavericks second on 53.7% of games won.
The Aces triumphed fairly comfortably in the 2014 edition of IPTL, which was a four-team affair then. They maintained their position on top of the table from the third day of the tournament right until the end, lifting the trophy with a total of 39 points. UAE Royals finished a couple of points behind them at second.
The 2015 edition of the tournament started in Kobe, Japan where the Indian Aces won their two matches against Singapore Slammers and Japan Warriors, the newly drafted team. The next leg at Manila, Philippines started well for the Aces too as they registered a landslide 30-18 win over the UAE Royals. However, the home team Phillippines Mavericks came back from 13-16 to win the match 25-24 after they won both the women's singles and men's singles sets.
But now playing on their home turf, and with the likes Nadal and Mirza in blazing form, the Aces will definitely want to turn the tables come Thursday when they face the Serena-less-Mavericks in the second match of the first day.
The resumption of the legendary Fedal rivalry
The most awaited clash of the tournament, of course, is that between Nadal and UAE Royals’ Roger Federer, which will be the last match of the Delhi leg on Saturday. The Federer-Nadal rivalry is one of the most epic and long-standing rivalries in the history of tennis, and has its roots way back in 2004 when a 17-year-old Nadal stunned the then World No. 1 Federer in straight sets.
Ever since then, the Spaniard has always had the upper hand over the Swiss talisman, with his wicked lefty forehand regularly causing problems for Federer's one-handed backhand. The two have engaged in some truly memorable battles over the years, most notably the 2008 Wimbledon final which is widely considered the greatest match of all time.
But for Indians, the 'Fedal’ rivalry has always been a distant mirage; they've only ever been able to watch it on their TV screens. Now, for the first time, they'll be able to witness the historic match-up live, and watch their idols play their trademark shots in the flesh. Perhaps that is the reason why the excitement levels in the country have shot through the roof, and the hashtag #1DayToCocaColaIPTL has been trending for so long.
Whoever wins, the tennis fans in India are in for an exhilarating three days of elite tennis. And they will cheer for the Indian Aces till their mouths run dry!
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