Andre Agassi won't play in IPTL if competition dates clash with Thanksgiving

Former tennis player Andre Agassi speaks to the media during a World Tennis Day London Showdown press conference

Tennis great Andre Agassi has thrown his participation in the inaugral International Premier Tennis League into doubt after he claimed that he is having second thoughts after looking at the schedule, which clashes with Thanksgiving day.

“It’s a good thing to take tennis to places in the world where they want to see it. There’s no downside in doing that,” said Agassi before his World Tennis Day match-up with Pete Sampras in London.

“My agreement to do it was based on a few very specific conditions. Certainly economics played a little part in it but also time away played another part.”

“I can’t be away for more than four or five days so I set some limitations and had some dates in December. Now I read in an email that the dates are over Thanksgiving. That would be a non-starter. Six or seven days away is too much of a price to pay,” he said.

The American was drafted in by the Singapore franchise yesterday, along with Tomas Berdych and Serena Williams.

Meanwhile, 15 time grand-slam winner Pete Sampras, who was picked up by the Mumbai team, expressed his delight and excitement on being a part of the IPTL.

“I’ve just been in talks with them and I’m excited to be a part of it. It’s a big endeavour by the guys who are putting the whole thing together.

“It’s not an easy thing to do though and we’ll have to see how it all plays out in the next weeks. I’ll get more details when I get home.”

Sampras also said that he wouldn’t have entertained the idea of being a part of such an event in his prime.

“I didn’t have a lot of time off so it would have been a tricky thing to commit to. It’s a long journey to Asia and I’m not sure how it would have played out for me. That was my time off.”

The Mahesh Bhupati and Boris Becker initiated venture is due to begin on the November 28, a day after Thanksgiving, and will culminate on the 13th of December.