Andy Murray, Ana Ivanovic, And Other Tennis Stars Arrive In Manila For The IPTL; Murray Meets Manny Pacquiao
The participating players for the Manila leg of the International Premier Tennis League, or IPTL have arrived in the Philippines. Andy Murray, who represents the Manila Mavericks alongside Maria Sharapova, has arrived on Nov. 27.
Prior to leaving for the Philippines, the Scot and current World No. 6 had already tweeted about his excitement to visit Manila for the first time. He even asked his followers on Twitter about the nice places to go to while he is in the Southeast Asian country.
Every commuter in Manila knows how bad the traffic problems are, and Murray has not been spared from experiencing the horrendous traffic jams in Manila. Upon his arrival, Murray took a note on the traffic issues in Manila. He thought it was "naughty."
Murray also met Philippines' boxing icon Manny Pacquiao later in the evening. He posted a photo of him with Pacquiao on Twitter shortly after he arrived in the country. The British tennis star will try to lead Pacquiao's country to victory in the IPTL.
Meanwhille, Serbian athlete Ana Ivanovic has also arrived in Manila on Nov. 27. Ivanovic told the reporters upon arriving that she is very thrilled to visit the Philippines for the first time. She later shared an Instagram photo with her team on the tennis court
Other tennis players who have already landed in Manila include Daniela Hantuchova, U.S. Open Champion Marin Cilic, and Frenchmen Gael Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who also posed for pictures with Pacquiao.
The IPTL will bring tennis stars and legends to four different cities across Asia. The Manila leg will be the first stop, before the tournament heads to Singapore, India, and the United Arab Emirates. There will be matches for the women's singles, men's singles, men's doubles, mixed doubles, and men's legend singles. The match will be played in five sets.
IPTL Teams
Manila Mavericks: Andy Murray, Maria Sharapova, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Kirsten Flipkens, Daniel Nestor, Treat Huey, Carlos Moya
Singapore Slammers: Serena Williams, Tomas Berdych, Daniela Hantuchova, Lleyton Hewitt, Nick Kyrgios, Bruno Soares, Patrick Rafter, Andre Agassi
Indian Aces: Ana Ivanovic, Gael Monfils, Sania Mirza, Rohan Bopanna, Fabrice Santoro, Roger Federer, Pete Sampras
UAE Royals: Novak Djokovic, Eugenie Bouchard, Caroline Wozniacki, Marin Cilic, Malek Jaziri, Nenad Zimonjic, Goran Ivanisevic
IPTL Tournament Schedule
Philippines - Nov. 28 to Nov. 30.
Singapore - Dec. 2 to Dec. 4
India - Dec. 6 to Dec. 8
United Arab Emirates - Dec. 11 to Dec. 13
