World Tennis League starts off on a cheerful note

A sports activities exhibition is a double-edged sword. There’s a sure detachment that it maintains from fierce competitors, which a purist might liken to trivialising. Nevertheless it additionally brings a sport nearer to an viewers, in any other case starved of watching its favorite gamers in flesh and blood.

The opening day of the fourth version of the World Tennis League on the S.M. Krishna Stadium right here was a mixture of every little thing. The standard was a few notches under elite stage, however there was enjoyable and frolic, preserving the sizeable crowd effervescent. There was additionally a sprinkling of stardust, with probably the most high-profile customer being the legendary Kapil Dev.

Legendary cricketer Kapil Dev with celebrities on the sidelines of the World Tennis League.
| Photograph Credit score:
Okay. MURALI KUMAR

It helped that three of the most important showmen in tennis had been in motion — Nick Kyrgios, Daniil Medvedev and Gael Monfils.

Kyrgios bounced with vitality, rising from his chair within the dugout at each alternative. Atone level, chair umpire John Blom even admonished him. “Nick, please go sit,” he mentioned, and his fellow Aussie quietly walked again – fairly sarcastically – like a well-behaved schoolkid.

Medvedev and Monfils performed the final match of the night, making certain that followers had a rollicking end. As soon as, Monfils even overruled his coach’s name for a time-out, endearing himself to the supporters much more.

India’s Dhakshineshwar Suresh gave a great account of himself, staying with Canadian World No. 23 Denis Shapovalov for giant tracts of his tie.

The one blemish on Wednesday got here proper at the start when play needed to be stopped after a piece of followers protested as a result of the abnormally excessive gamers’ entry tunnel was blocking their view. Tennis resumed once they had been moved behind the server’s arm, a vantage place they had been solely too thrilled to occupy.

The outcomes: VB Realty Hawks 25 bt Aussie Mavericks Kites 21 (Elina Svitolina & Maaya Rajeshwaran bt Marta Kostyuk & Ankita Raina 7-5; Svitolina bt Kostyuk 7-5; Denis Shapovalov & Yuki Bhambri misplaced to Nick Kyrgios & Dhakshineshwar Suresh 4-6; Shapovalov bt Dhakshineshwar 7-5).

AOS Eagles 18 bt Recreation Changers Falcons 16 (Paula Badosa misplaced to Magda Linette 4-6; Sumit Nagal & Badosa bt Rohan Bopanna & Linette 6-1; Gael Monfils & Nagal misplaced to Daniil Medvedev & Bopanna 2-6; Monfils bt Medvedev 6-3).