NEW DELHI: The tennis world is often a lonely place. In an individual sport like this, there is no shoulder to lean on when the going gets tough on the court.
Friendship is what every tennis player craves but it can be hard to build lasting friendships on both the ATP and WTA circuits when you have to face them across the net on a regular basis.
The IPTL and its 'team-franchise' format gave the opportunity to the stars involved to build a rare camaraderie and sometimes lasting friendships on the circuit. Indian Aces, who won the inaugural IPTL last season, was one of the closest-knit franchises in the tournament. For the Aces, the mantra has been simple -the team that stays together, parties together, wins together!
"In the Indian Aces team, Ana (Ivanovic), Gael (Monfils) and I grew up together. We are all of the same age-group and add to that Rohan (Bopanna) who has always been a great friend of mine. Roger (Federer) just came and fit right into the team. We gelled right from the beginning," world's No. 1 doubles player Sania Mirza, who is once again part of the Indian Aces, told TOI on Friday.
"There were a lot of fun moments last year. I guess it helped us pull through some of the tough matches," she added.
"The league shows the friendship and chemistry that the players share on the circuit. The camaraderie definitely carries forward to the tour as well because you just can't cut off your relationships suddenly. For three weeks we spend 15-16 hours together during the league. You stay together, travel on the same flight and go out for dinners all as a team. You can't be best friends with everyone but you do develop some great friendships," the 29-year-old said.
The team will have a couple of new members this season in Rafael Nadal and Agnieszka Radwanska apart from Sania, Bopanna and Fabrice Santoro. "I have known Rafa for a long time. Radwanska is younger player but I have known her from a young age and they are going to fit right in. Aga is not that serious actually in the locker room. She's fun, a jovial girl and very smart on court," Sania said about Radwanska, who is called 'The Professor' by some fellow players.
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