Federer replaces 'injured' Nadal in IPTl's Indian Aces team

17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer has replaced Spanish tennis ace Rafael Nadal in the inaugural International Premier Tennis League(ITPL) line-up, after the world number two withdrew from the tournament as he plans to use the off-season to prepare for 2015 after a year interrupted by injuries.

Federer was cautious when the event was first announced, but has been confirmed in the Delhi-based Indian Aces team. The event begins on 28 November and involves current and former players including Andy Murray, Serena Williams, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.

Nadal has been out of action since Wimbledon with a wrist injury and plans to return in Beijing next week before playing in Shanghai, Basel, Paris and the ATP World Tour Finals in London, The BBC reported.

The Spaniard struggled with a back injury at the start of the year and, after winning his 14th Grand Slam title at the French Open in June, lost to Nick Kyrgios in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon.

Federer, did not commit in light of the IPTL in March, saying that he thinks it's interesting, but nothing changes as a player has to decide how often he wants to play, how many matches he wants to play.

However, the Swiss 17-time Grand Slam winner has now been named in the Indian Aces team that also includes Ana Ivanovic, Sania Mirza, Gael Monfils and seven-time Wimbledon champion Sampras. He said that he is really looking forward to making his first trip to Delhi, adding that his team tells him that there's a lot of tennis fans and his supporters in the area.

The IPTL would be played across 16 days in four cities -Manila, Singapore, Delhi and Dubai, with the final to be played on 13 December, the report added.