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Dubai, April 13 (IANS)
Indian Aces, the winners of the inaugural International Premier Tennis League (IPTL), will be led by former World No.1 men's singles player Rafael Nadal and current World No.1 women's doubles player Sania Mirza.
The Indian Aces will also have Agnieszka Radwanska, Gael Monfils, Ivan Dodig, Rohan Bopanna and Fabrice Santoro -- all of whom were taken by the New Delhi-based franchise in the global player draft held here on Sunday for the second edition, scheduled from December 2 to 20.
In the inaugural edition of the tournament 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer and 14-time Slam winner Pete Sampras were part of the Aces team.
Federer will play for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Royals this season. Sampras, however, won't feature in this edition of the tournament.
The Aces team retained the services of Monfils, Sania, Bopanna and Santoro for this edition.
Nadal missed his date with the Aces in the last season due to an injury which forced him to withdraw from the competition.
Also, Japan was announced as the fifth country of the tournament, who will field 'Japan Warriors'.
"We started off to an exciting beginning in 2014. The first edition was a resounding success in terms of player and fan acceptance. TV and digital audiences enjoyed a very high level of competition and we have set a high bar for ourselves. We are confident of building on the success of last year to come back with a bigger and better product in 2015," IPTL founder Mahesh Bhupathi said.
"Tennis is on a tremendous growth path in Asia led by Japan. The country boasts of three men's players in the top-100. Japan coming on board as the fifth Asian country led by their top star Nishikori, proves that the league is on the right path."
The final player line-up of all five teams:
Indian Aces: Rafael Nadal, Gael Monfils, Agnieszka Radwanska, Sania Mirza, Ivan Dodig, Fabrice Santoro, Rohan Bopanna.
Singapore Slammers: Novak Djokovic, Nick Kyrgios, Karolina Pliskova, Carlos Moya, Belinda Bencic, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Marcelo Melo.
Manila Mavericks: Serena Williams, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Richard Gasquet, Sabine Lisicki, Mark Philippousis, Jarmila Gajdosova, Borna Coric, Treat Huey.
UAE Royals: Roger Federer, Tomas Berdych, Ana Ivanovic, Goran Ivanisevic, Kristina Mladenovic, Marin Cilic, Daniel Nestor.
Japan Warriors: Maria Sharapova, Kei Nishikori, Vasek Pospisil, Leander Paes, Marat Safin, Daniela Hantuchova, Lucas Pouille, Kurumi Nara.
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