BENGALURU: In a heated men’s doubles match between the AOS Eagles and Aussie Maverick Kites during the final of the World Tennis League (WTL) at the SM Krishna Stadium on Saturday, two of their stars – Nick Kyrgios and Gael Monfils — had a moment to savour, after a long, entertaining rally. Under the lights, the two stars tried their bit to rouse the crowd. Monfils’ arm-waving to get the crowd on and Kyrgios’s antics with his racquet got the stadium into an encore.
More than the tennis played over the last four days in the WTL, fans flocking the stands enjoyed every bit of emotion these players displayed. Kyrgios’s constant trips to the umpire only for him to be told off put the crowd into splits. Monfils’ celebrations with his Indian colleagues to pump the crowd was one to remember. "I like the fact that the players are actually having fun rather than coming here for the sake of it," one could hear a fan telling their friends.
Another facet of their excitement comes from the fact that the Indian players – Sumit Nagal, Shrivalli Bhamidipaty, Dhaksineshwar Suresh to name a few – challenged their foreign opponents. Take Saturday’s first women’s singles game between Bhamidipaty of the AOS Eagles and Ukraine’s Marta Kostyok of the Aussie Kites, for example. Bhamidipaty – ranked 348 — got the crowd singing her name after she briefly controlled the proceedings. Later on, she would lose 4-6, but her fighting spirit got the crowd clapping.
The presence of celebrities and popular sports persons like KL Rahul, Kapil Dev and Shreyas Iyer have helped as well.
As the players – who have just completed a long year in professional circuits — descend to India, they were given the chance to use their charm, their showmanship and their experience on beating their opponent. That was on full show for the last three days. The arena, which hosted the Billie Jean King cup ties between India, Netherlands and Slovenia last month, has the crowd at its vibrant best. The likes of Daniill Medvedev, Kyrgios and Monfils will be added to the list of names, which includes the Williams sisters, Stefan Edberg, Leander Paes, the arena has hosted over the years.
Results: WS: S Bhamidipaty (AOS Eagles) lost to M Kostyok(Kites) 4-6; XD: Bhamidapaty/Monfils (Eagles) bt Dhakshineswar/Kostyok 6-3 (Kites). MD: Dhakshineswar/Kyrgios (Kites) bt Nagal/Monfils (Eagles) 6-3; MS: Dhakshineswar S (Kites) bt S Nagal 7-6 (Eagles). Aussie Mavericks Kites bt AOS Eagles 22-19.
