Mavericks tweak lineup, add French vet

The Philippine Mavericks recently added French veteran Edouard Roger Vasselin, a 6-2 doubles specialist with a solid singles record, to bolster their lineup as there is increasing anticipation of fierce opposition in the five-team International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) which kicks off its second season in Kobe, Japan, tomorrow.

The Mavs are keeping in step with the Japan Warriors as the only teams with eight-strong rosters. The United Arab Emirates Royals, Singapore Slammers and Indian Aces are competing with seven players. The Warriors are making their IPTL debut this season.

The second leg of the campaign will be held at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena here on Dec. 6-8. Two matches are scheduled each day with Japan facing Singapore and the Mavericks hosting the Royals on Sunday, Dec. 6, India battling the Royals and the Mavericks playing the Warriors on Monday, Dec. 7 and Singapore engaging the Royals and the Philippines taking on the defending champion Aces on Tuesday, Dec. 8.

Borna Coric, 18, was struck out of the Mavericks roster to make way for Vasselin. The others in the cast are world No. 1 Serena Williams, world No. 9 Richard Gasquet, world No. 14 Milos Raonic, world No. 12 Sabine Lisicki, world No. 25 Jarmila Gajdosova, Fil-Am doubles standout Treat Huey and Australian legend Mark Philippoussis.

Vasselin has earned over $4 Million as a pro and was ranked No. 35 in men’s singles last year. He has made it to the third round in three Grand Slam tournaments. At the 2014 French Open, Vasselin teamed with Julien Benneteau to capture the doubles crown. This year, he partnered with Canada’s Daniel Nestor, who’s playing for the Royals in the IPTL, to claim the doubles championship in Cincinnati.

The Warriors kept in step with the Mavericks and made a lineup switch, too. Germany’s Philipp Kohlscheiber, 32, was brought in to take Frenchman Lucas Pouille’s spot. Kohlscheiber was once ranked No. 16 in the world and has collected $8.3 Million in pro paychecks. At the 2012 Wimbledon, the 5-10 baseline master reached the quarterfinals where he was beaten by Jo Wilfried Tsonga in four sets. Kohlscheiber was a substitute player for the Mavericks last season. Japan’s lineup consists of icon Maria Sharapova, Daniela Hantuchova, world No. 8 Kei Nishikori, Kurumi Nara, Leander Paes, Marat Safin and world No. 39 Vasek Pospisil.

In the Manila leg, all eyes will be on 30-year-old Huey, ranked No. 36 in the world in men’s doubles. He played with the Mavericks last year. Huey is a local favorite and a mainstay on the Philippine Davis Cup team. He is expected to play for the country in its next Davis Cup tie against Kuwait in March.

IPTL Manila project head Clem Apacible of SM Prime Holdings has confirmed that 30 players, including world No. 5 Rafael Nadal, are arriving in Manila on Saturday and will be billeted at the Nobu Hotel in the City of Dreams near the MOA Arena. Nadal will headline the Aces whose other players are world No. 5 Agnieszka Radwanska, 42-year-old French legend Fabrice Santoro, Ivan Dodig, world No. 22 Gael Monfils, doubles specialist Rohan Bopanna and world No. 1 women’s doubles player Sania Mirza.

The IPTL competition format is a unique innovation that has captured the imagination of tennis fans all over the world. So far, the IPTL is concentrated in Asia but there is a growing clamor to expand its shores. Nadal said the IPTL’s revolutionary concept has opened a “whole new ball game” for tennis. An IPTL match is played in five sets broken down into men’s singles, women’s singles, mixed doubles, men’s doules and men’s legends singles. The team that wins the most games at the end of the five sets takes the match. Each set is a straight-to-6 point affair with no ad scoring.