Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer in a one-set face-off with scores of tennis stars, not just the fans, cheering on from the sidelines. The IPTL 2015 tournament might have begun a while back, but Saturday is take-off time for the team tennis event when the Indian Aces and Nadal host the UAE Royals and Federer in New Delhi on Saturday.
The Nadal-Federer clash is one of the great rivalries in tennis, and when the left-handed top-spin machine and the right-handed glide king take centre-stage, everyone at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium will, no doubt, be enthralled.
"I will give it my best," Nadal, sat out the Aces' victory on Friday, told IPTL's official website when asked about playing Federer, who was part of the Indian Aces setup last year. "The format is so quick, and everything moves so fast, but I am looking forward to playing against Federer on Saturday."
Going into the match, the smart money will be on the Indian Aces, who are cruising it at the top of the table, even if they know a slipup on Saturday and the UAE Royals will be right there competing for the IPTL honours.
While the Indian Aces have won both their matches in Delhi so far rather comfortably, the UAE Royals suffered a defeat to the Japan Warriors on Thursday. Therefore, Federer's team will be keen to bounce back and down the home team in this high-profile IPTL clash.
"We started the first two sets well, but Herbert played brilliantly for the Warriors, winning both the men's and mixed doubles," UAE Royals legends player Goran Ivanisevic said. "We didn't expect to lose the men's singles, but that's tennis you know.
"And the format this year is really competitive where every game counts, so even if you lose its important to get a good score up there."
Teams: Indian Aces: Samantha Stosur, Sania Mirza, Rafael Nadal, Ivan Dodig, Gael Monfils, Rohan Bopanna, Fabrice Santoro.
UAE Royals: Kristina Mladenovic, Ana Ivanovic, Daniel Nestor, Marin Cilic, Tomas Berdych, Roger Federer, Goran Ivanisevic.
Where to Watch Live
Get the report and final score HERE
Federer vs Nadal when the UAE Royals play the Indian Aces, is scheduled for a 7.30 pm IST (2 pm GMT, 9 am ET) start. Live coverage of the match in India will be on Star Sports 4 and Star Sports HD4, while all the action can also be watched via live streaming online on Starsports.com and Hotstar.
Viewers in the US will be able to watch the IPTL live on the Tennis Channel, while the action can also be live streamed on Tennis Channel online. Audience in the UK can catch the IPTL live on Sky Sports, with the live stream option on Sky Go.
Sports5 will broadcast the match live in the Philippines, while viewers in Singapore can watch the action on the SingTel network. Audience from SouthEast Asia can watch the action live on Fox Sports Asia. The match between Indian Aces and UAE Royals will be broadcast live on Abu Dhabi Sports.
