IPTL 2015: The Day I Saw Roger Federer Play Live!
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IPTL, or the International Premier Tennis League, is a recently-formed team tennis league that started in 2014. The league brings both current and retired tennis players to play exhibition games in different cities in Asia.
I was lucky enough to watch the maiden tour in 2014 when they went to Manila. My boyfriend bought us tickets as a gift as he is well aware of the love I have for the sport. I got to see big time players like Andy Murray, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Ana Ivanovic, etc. It was a surreal good feeling, but at the back of my mind, I was still kind of sad because no Roger Federer.
Come 2015, I was already here already in Singapore, and IPTL was renewed for another season. And yes, they came to Singapore, and I watched. AND YES, Roger Federer played -- I freaking saw him play live and it is pretty up close. This is the reason why I am blogging about this. It's so nice to reminisce this memorable day.
IPTL in Singapore was here for three days, from 18th to 20th December. I watched the first day, and the last day -- which is also the finals of the season. But this post will focus on my experience on the first day, because that was the day I saw Roger Federer play live!
So my dad and I, both excited but mostly me, arrived at the Singapore Indoor Stadium like two hours early. Haha. But it paid off because we saw Marat Safin, Thomas Enqvist, and Pierre-Hugues Herbert warming up even before the games officially started. Before I became a die-hard Federer fan, I was a big fan of Marat Safin first until he retired. I initially didn't know he will join the tour, so imagine my surprise when I saw him on the court!
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| From left to right: Marat Safin, Thomas Enqvist, and Pierre Hugues-Herbert |
The first game was between the Philippine Mavericks 🇵🇭 and the Japan Warriors 🇯🇵. Of course I rooted for the Mavericks! It was nice to see again PH's top doubles player, Treat Huey!
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| Men's Doubles match between Huey/Vesselin for the Mavericks and Paes/Herbert for the Warriors |
And then the second event came... Between Singapore Slammers 🇸🇬 and UAE Royals 🇦🇪.
The first top player from this event who came out is Stan the Man, Stanislas Wawrinka.
Just like how he is on TV, his personality is quiet and meek. He doesn't interact much with his teammates. Or is it because the Aussie brat, Nick Kyrgios is on his team? Haha. I don't know what the organisers were thinking, I am pretty sure they are aware of their issue, so why did they assign these two on the same team?#awkwardmuch. Anyway, another thing I noticed is that Stan's not chubby at all, because on TV it seems he's on the chubby-side. Or maybe he just have a big build? Lol.
Then THE Maestro came out to warm up. People started getting up from their seats to seem him a little bit closer. The Singapore Slammers was supposed to have a home advantage in terms of the cheers, but the locals can't resist the UAE Royals because one of its players is Roger Federer! Haha!
I cannot contain my happiness when this happened; emotions are overflowing: happiness, excitement, and disbelief. I was just really, really happy. Sorry if this part of this post is becoming overly dramatic and exaggerated. Haha. It really has been my dream to see him play. 😭
And then games started...
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| Women's Singles match between Kristina Mladenovic and Karolina Pliskova |
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| Mixed Doubles match between Federed/Mladenovic and Brown/Pliskova |
But the most awaited match, and the last game for the day, is between the two Swiss, Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka. Federer won the match, 6-4.
So this concludes The Day I Saw Roger Federer Play Live. :) It's really good to look back and reminisce that day, I won't forget it ever! Next mission: See Roger Federer Play Live in Wimbledon. Haha! I just hope he's not retired yet when I am already capable of flying to London and watch Wimbledon. 🙏🏻
And oh, here's me with Federer and Wawrinka's standees. 😜
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