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Tag: Novak Djokovic

  • IPTL appoints UFA Sports as marketer of worldwide media rights

    IPTL appoints UFA Sports as marketer of worldwide media rights

    MUMBAI: The International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) and UFA Sports have signed an extensive cooperation agreement wherein UFA Sports will act as the exclusive marketer of the media rights of the league.

     

    IPTL and UFA Sports agreement include the media rights distribution in the respective host countries as well as worldwide rights.

     

    IPTL, a brand new team tennis format, will be played across several countries in Asia. The first-ever edition will be held later this year. From 28 November to 13 December, tennis stars and legends like Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Serena Williams, Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras will compete in four franchise teams in Manila, Singapore, New Delhi and Dubai.

     

    The competition will feature a total of 21 Grand Slam champions and 14 current and former world number ones with a total prize money budget of over $29 million.

     

    Founder and multiple Grand-Slam winner Mahesh Bhupathi stated: “We are pleased to announce that UFA Sports will be the exclusive marketer of the worldwide media rights of the International Premier Tennis League. UFA Sports brings wide experience and a high level of expertise which will help the IPTL reach a global audience. UFA Sports is ideally placed to promote a unique concept like IPTL and we look forward a long association.”

     

    UFA Sports managing director Stefan Felsing commented, “The International Premier Tennis League is an extremely attractive, new format in the world of tennis with the potential to revolutionise the sport. We are glad to become a part of the development and to extend the UFA Sports portfolio with a high quality product.”

     

    The four teams will play a total of 24 matches in a round-robin format to determine the inaugural IPTL League Champion. Modeled after successful international sports franchise concepts, the IPTL combines world-class sports and entertainment in a format that keeps both, spectators and TV viewers completely engrossed. All matches will be produced in HD quality with IPTL graphics and commentary.

  • Novak Djokovic lifts Wimbledon trophy for second time

    Novak Djokovic lifts Wimbledon trophy for second time

    MUMBAI: Serbian Novak Djokovic won his second Wimbledon title, defeating seven-time winner Roger Federer, 6-7(7) 6-4 7-6(4) 5-7 6-4, in a tightly contested battle on 6 July.

     

     It was a major victory for the world number two who had lost five of his last six Grand Slam finals and his last three in a row. But the 27 year old was pushed all the way by the Swiss who faced a match point in the fourth set before forcing a decider.

     

    Getting down on his knees in celebration, he dedicated his win, first to his fiancé Jelena Ristic and their future baby as he climbed to the players’ box.

     

    ”I don’t know how I managed to do it,” said a teary Djokovic, who had lost his last three Grand Slam finals.

     

    ”I want to dedicate this win to a few people, first of all to my future wife and our future baby. I am going to become a father soon and I am still preparing for that. To my first coach Jelena Gencic, who taught me everything about playing tennis and how to behave. Unfortunately she passed away last year but this is for her.”

    This was Djokovic’s first Grand Slam title since the passing away of his first coach Gencic, who he described as a second mother. She passed away last June at the age of 76.

     

    Known to wear his heart on his sleeve, he had kind words for his opponent who was denied a record eighth Wimbledon title.

     

    “I want to congratulate Roger for great tournament and a great fight. It was great match to be part of,” Djokovic added.

     
    “Roger I respect your career and everything you have done and thank you for letting me win today!” 

     

    Djokovic recalled that the Wimbledon was very special to him as it was the first tennis match he had ever seen “The first tennis match I ever saw was Wimbledon when I was five. It is the best tournament in the world and the one I always dreamed of winning.” 
     

  • IPTL set to take the world of Tennis by storm

    IPTL set to take the world of Tennis by storm

    MUMBAI: Tennis is set to get a revolutionary league, the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL), in which franchise teams based out of four Asian countries will compete. Each team will have six to ten players.

    The brainchild of India’s 12-time Grand Slam doubles champion Mahesh Bhupathi, the IPTL is inspired by the television-friendly format of twenty-20 cricket’s Indian Premier League in India. Bhupathi is the Managing Director of the league, a property owned by his company Globosport.

    The four franchises competing in the league will be based in Bangkok, Mumbai, Dubai and Singapore. Globosport has not disclosed the names of owners of the four franchisees.

    The tennis league has the backing of a galaxy of top tennis stars. Bhupati believes the event would be television, spectator and player-friendly because of its unique model. The tourney has been branded by world No. 1 Novak Djokovic as potentially “revolutionary”.

    Tennis super stars Djokovic, Andy Murray, Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal and legends Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras will feature in the league. The inaugural edition is expected to be held in December 2014, prior to the Australian Open.
     

    “We wanted a model which was TV friendly, spectator friendly and of course player friendly. The biggest complaint in tennis has been that you have no control over the time of a match. You don’t know if a Grand Slam final will be a two-hour match or a five-hour match. Here we are guaranteeing that it will be over in a maximum of three hours, so all are excited,” Bhupathi said.

    The owners of the four team owners spent a total of $23,975,000 in an auction for players held in Dubai on Sunday.

    The format involves 24 best-of-five round robin matches that will take place in the four cities between November 28 and December 13. The matches will consist of a set each for men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, mixed doubles, and, if required, a legends singles tiebreak to decide the match. Unlike in a standard match of tennis, where the tiebreak would be invoked if the score reached 6-all in a set, it will be invoked if the score reaches 5-all in any set.
     

    Tennis players often complain of long season which gives them little time to rest and recover, but Bhupathi has managed to convince them to play in the league. Tennis is an individual sport, so we don’t get to play team competitions except for Davis cup and Fed Cup, so the players liked this concept of team event.

    On why Bhupathi, Justin Gimelstob, a member of the ATP board, and legend Boris Becker chose to concentrate on just Asia, Bhupathi said, “There is a big demand for tennis in the region. The players are involved in exhibition matches during the year. There’s a huge appetite for world class tennis here. That’s why the Asian cities.”

    Globosport had been working on the event for the past 15 months. “It’s not easy, since tennis is an individual sport. I spoke to a few players about the concept to make a team event where players will be bought by owners… that’s how it all started,” Bhupati expounded.

    Since India hosts just one top tier men’s event in Chennai Open and no WTA event, watching stars such as Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams and Djokovic in action in Indian cities would surely be a treat to watch for Indian fans.
    Bhupathi also said governing bodies of the game, both ATP and WTA, were very supportive of his project. The IPTL will share all the centrally generated revenue with each of the franchises.

    All of those factors should result in a great, winning scenario for all involved – including tennis fans – in these parts of the world which are less frequented by top players. Sunday’s draft served as another element to the excitement, and the anticipation will build as the 2014 calendar year progresses and many of these players continue writing their respective legacies.

    The first fixtures are scheduled for November 28-30 in Singapore, before the tournament moves to Bangkok (December 2-4), Mumbai (December 7-9) and finally Dubai (December 11-13).

  • Seiko is the new watch partner of Novak Djokovic

    Seiko is the new watch partner of Novak Djokovic

    MUMBAI: On the eve of the Australian Open in Melbourne, Seiko launched its new partnership with Novak Djokovic. Shinji Hattori, President of Seiko Watch Corporation, is proud to announce the agreement in person and to present to Novak a Seiko Astron GPS Solar watch as a symbol of this global three year partnership.

     

    Seiko and Novak: a perfect match

    We choose to believe that Seiko is, today, a real leader in watchmaking. We invented the quartz watch in 1969, we invented the Kinetic watch in 1988 and just two years ago we invented Astron GPS Solar, a watch that, using only the power of light, connects to the GPS network. In summary, we strive for perfection in watchmaking; we always have and we always will. When Kintaro Hattori founded the company in 1881, he was determined that Seiko should be ‘‘always one step ahead of the rest’’, and we live today by this creed.

    This is why, when the opportunity to work with Novak Djokovic arose, we welcomed it immediately. In Novak, we see someone who shares our desire to be the best and who is determined to maintain his status as a leader. Like Seiko, Novak is dedicated to perfection. And like Novak, Seiko is determined to be “one step ahead of the rest”.

     

    A watch for every aspect of Novak’s life

    We are delighted that Novak selected Seiko and we are honoured and proud to be his partner for the next three years. We admire Novak as a player, of course, but we also admire him as a person who has a rich range of interests and a very varied lifestyle.

    We cannot help Novak win tennis matches, but we can help him manage time in every other aspect of his life. We have created a series of watches that Novak will be wearing in 2014; each selected to suit the different aspects of Novak’s life. When he is training, Novak will wear a watch he has selected from our Sportura chronograph collection. When he is at an evening function, Novak will wear a Premier Kinetic Perpetual watch. When he is away from the tennis world and enjoying his passion for adventure sports, it will be a Seiko Divers watch that accompanies him. Lastly, and most importantly for us and for Novak, whose global schedule is so hectic, when he is travelling, Novak will wear the Astron GPS Solar watch that uses the GPS network and the power of light to adjust to each and every time zone on earth.

     

    Novak, Seiko and the environment

    Novak’s 2014 watch collection highlights another aspect of the partnership that is important for both Novak and Seiko. We both share a passion for the preservation of our environment and Novak’s choice of watch reflects this. Astron uses just the power of light, the Sportura chronograph is powered by a mercury free battery that Seiko makes itself and the Divers and Premier watches are powered by Seiko’s unique ‘no battery change’ technology.
    Thanks to Seiko’s leadership in green watchmaking, Novak’s love of, and respect for, the natural world is reflected in his watch collection.

     

    Seiko and the Novak Djokovic Foundation

    The Novak Djokovic Foundation commands our respect and admiration through its hard and important work with disadvantaged children. Seiko is pleased to support the Foundation and its activities financially, but the most important way in which we can make a difference is by helping Novak to promote the Foundation around the world. To do so, we have created an accessibly priced watch collection for young people that will carry the Foundation name and message. These watches are to be sold under our LORUS brand name and will be available in watch specialist retail stores in many markets worldwide from September, 2014 onwards.

  • Novak Djokovic signs up with IMG

    MUMBAI: IMG Worldwide, the global sports, fashion and media company, has signed ATP World No. 1 player Novak Djokovic for exclusive worldwide management and representation.

    Under the terms of the exclusive multi-year agreement, IMG will represent Djokovic in developing a brand building strategy through marketing, endorsements, appearances and licensing along with select global business initiatives.

    Djokovic‘s addition will help IMG to offset the loss of Tennis legend Roger Federer, who had earlier this year refused to renew his contract with the agency.

    In making the announcement, IMG chairman and CEO Mike Dolan said, “Novak Djokovic is a superbly talented tennis player, and world-class competitor who demonstrates a very strong character through his passion and commitment to his game. I believe he has the ability to translate those qualities into achieving great success working with global brands in the marketplace.”

    “I‘m very happy with how my career has been advancing these past few years. Working with IMG will continue to build off of that momentum. IMG‘s expansive global footprint will offer me a truly unique set of resources to explore business opportunities that simply do not exist anywhere else in the industry,” added Novak Djokovic.

    Djokovic has won five Grand Slam singles titles — 2008, 2011 and 2012 Australian Open, the 2011 Wimbledon Championships, and the 2011 U.S. Open Champion.

    In 2011 he became the sixth player in history to win three grand slam titles in a one year period. He is also the first male Serbian tennis player to win a major singles title and the youngest player in the open era to have reached the semifinals of all four Grand Slam events, separately and consecutively.