Delhi crowd is the loudest in IPTL: Ivanisevic

Terming the Delhi crowd's lung-power the "loudest" of the three cities the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) has been played in so far, former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic heavily endorsed the advent of the inaugural tournament in India.

Ivanisevic is a part of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Royals team that won their opening match of the India leg 29-16 against the Singapore Slammers.

"The crowd response has been great so far, first in Manila, then in Singapore and now in Delhi. I think, here the crowd is the loudest. Today the atmosphere was very good. I enjoyed playing here," Ivanisevic said after his team's win.

He spoke enthusiastically about the new format of the tournament and stated that it could be a factor in pulling fans to watch the action live. He was in fine form, thrashing his 2001 Wimbledon final opponent Patrick Rafter 6-1, which he stated was the icing on the cake.

"I enjoyed every second of my match here today. The court, the crowd, the level of tennis, and my team everything added to the fun. The shot-clock rule doesn't allow anyone to fool around on court. Every game is important," the Croat said.

The charismatic left-hander even brought out "Love You" cheers from the expectant crowd during his triumph against old foe Rafter.

He got the crowd behind him, while his tussle with Rafter made one fan shout: "2001, Goran!", bringing back memories of one of the most memorable Wimbledon finals, which Ivanisevic won 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 2-6, 9-7. It was his only Grand Slam title.

The IPTL has received encouraging response in the first two legs of the innovative tournament, in Manila and Singapore respectively so far and is scheduled to move to Dubai for the final leg of the competition Dec 11.