Murray eyes IPTL title for Manila Mavericks and meet Pacquiao

MANILA, Philippines – Andy Murray is excited for his first visit here when he will spearhead the Manila Mavericks franchise in the inaugural leg of the newly-formed International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) later this month.

The world no. 8 Murray will be joined by Maria Sharapova, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Kirsten Flipkens, Daniel Nestor, Carlos Moya and the country’s top player Treat Huey in the Mavericks team that will compete against teams from India, Singapore and United Arab of Emirates in the fledgling league that will feature 21 Grand Slam champions and 14 current and former world number one players.

“It’s definitely exciting to be part of it in the first year,” said Murray in an email sent to Philstar.com by the IPTL organizers led by multiple Grand Slam winner Mahesh Bhupathi of India. 

“Playing in Manila will be fun. The fans there don’t get to see a lot of live tennis, so that will be good. With the season being so busy, it can be difficult to take a holiday so you don’t often get to travel anywhere different to the countries on the tour,” added the 27-year-old tennis star.

More than the thrill of playing in the country for the first time, Murray is also looking forward to explore the country.

“Whenever I am in a new place, I like to try and take in some of the sights. I’ve heard the Intramuros in Manila is pretty spectacular. I have also heard of some great restaurants in the area, so I’m quite excited to explore,” Murray said.

But of all the things he is looking forward to his Manila visit is the chance to meet global sports icon Manny Pacquiao.

“I am also hoping to meet an idol of mine, Manny Pacquiao, and I will try to get him along to a match. I’m not sure what his tennis is like, but will happily give him a few tips,” Murray said.

By the time Murray and company see action at the Mall of Asia Arena, Pacquiao should be back from Macau where he is scheduled to fight unbeaten American champion Chris Algieri on Nov. 23.

The IPTL will hold the first leg here from Nov. 28-30 as tickets are selling briskly at SM Tickets and via online www.smtickets.com.

The IPTL tour will move to Singapore on Dec. 2-4, India on Dec. 6-8 then will wind up at Dubai on Dec. 11-13 where the inaugural winning team will walk away with the prize money of USD 1 million.

It has been a roller coaster year for Murray after returning from a back surgery. It took him a while before he regained his top form and is looking forward to lead the Mavericks to a victory at home.  

He is coming off a quarterfinal loss to world no. 1 Novak Djokovic in the Paris Masters after winning the Shenzhen Open in China, Erste Bank Open in Vienna, Austria and Valencia Open in Spain in his last five tournaments.

“It has been tough. When I returned after my back surgery, it took much longer to get to back to full fitness than I had originally expected. It took a while until I felt like I could play at 100 percent again. However, over the last few months I have started to feel back in that place and have had some great matches and some great results,” Murray said. “It was great to win Shenzhen in its first ever year and I hope the Mavericks can do the same with the IPTL.”