IPTL
"Crazy but Fun", Says Dancing Roger Federer
A
laughing and joking Roger Federer downed Czech world number seven Tomas Berdych
in IPTL's third leg in New Delhi, where the Swiss veteran was playing for the
first time.
New Delhi: World number two Roger Federer hailed the new International
Premier Tennis League as "crazy but fun" after sauntering through his
debut matches in the Indian capital on Sunday.
The
normally composed and focused Federer was clearly enjoying himself during his
three matches in front of Indian fans including Bollywood stars Amitabh
Bachchan and cricketing great Sunil Gavaskar.
After
winning his doubles and mixed doubles matches with Indian teammates Sania Mirza
and Rohan Bopanna, Federer celebrated with a courtside dance, before teammate
France's Gael Monfils joined in.
"It's
crazy but it's good fun. I definitely think there's a place for this,"
Federer said, adding, "It's competitive, it's serious but it's still
light-hearted."
Federer's
Indian Aces defeated the Singapore Slammers 26 points to 16 in the competition
which has a quickfire format, including one-set matches hurried along by a
20-second serve clock.
Federer,
who has never played in India before, said the experience "was big, it was
loud, it was different".
Federer
said he was unsure how much extra tennis he would play next year, and would
make a decision on his schedule after the Australian Open in January.
"I
gotta be careful not to overplay, clearly. I gotta still decide on Davis Cup,
what I'm going to do there," the 33-year-old said courtside.
"But
I'll have a look after the Australian Open. That's when I will decide how much
I'm going to play next season," said Federer, who holds a record 17 Gram
Slam titles.
"I'm
going to play a full schedule like normal but the question is how much more
will I add or not."
Federer
is expected to take on Novak Djokovic on Monday night in Delhi for his Indian
Aces team before the competition moves on to the final leg in Dubai.