Champions Tennis League unveils Hyderabad Aces
Hyderabad, Nov 6 (IANS) Vijay Amritraj-promoted Champions Tennis League (CTL) Thursday unveiled Hyderabad Aces, the team from Hyderabad, which has replaced Chennai in the southern group. Former world number one women's singles player Martina Hingis, top players like Mark Philippoussis (Wimbledon champion), Mikhail Youzhny (World No.8) and India's Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan will represent Hyderabad Aces in the inaugural edition of the tournament beginning November 15.
CTL has a six-city league-cum-finals format to be played across India between November 15 and 26. Hyderabad will open their campaign against Bangalore at the L.B. Stadium Tennis Complex here November 17. The next day, Hyderabad will face Pune.
The reverse games will be played November 21 in Bangalore and November 23 in Pune. Amritraj hoped that the CTL will go a long way in promoting the game in India as many international players will be in action.
"It is exciting to have a Hyderabad team in the tournament as the city is a tremendous tennis town," he said.
Amritraj said CTL is "India-centric" as compared to the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL), which has Asia in focus.
"Local players will get motivated to compete at the global level. Prominence of tennis has increased manifold over the years in this city, and an event of such magnitude will only enhance interest in the sport among young lovers of the sport," said K. Rama Raju, former national ranked tennis player and co-owner of Hyderabad Aces.