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TPTL 2019

NEWS & updates

Trivandrum Tigers wins TPTL

MR Ramesh, President of TTC giving away the winner Trophy to Govind Krishnakumar and his team Trivandrum Tigers

Trivandrum Tigers once again shows their domination by lifting the TPTL 2019 trophy. They beat TIPL Advantage 2-0. The 1st match was the 110+ category doubles. The team of Sathish and Vineeth of TIPL played a good game and things were looking even till the end of the 5th game. Both Govind and Ajay of Tigers were not playing their best tennis while Sathish and Vineeth played aggressively and were looking good. However the experience of Govind and Ajay came in strong as they took advantage of few crucial lapses from the TIPL team and eventually took the match 7-3.

The second match of the tie was the singles, Dr. Anand of Tigers took on Priesh of TIPL. Priesh won the 1st set of the super tie break and was looking in good nick. However the 2nd and 3rd went to Dr Anand as he showed some class. He started moving to the net more often and that upset the rhythm of Priesh who is more comfortable playing the baseline game.

Celebration started as soon as the 2nd match was won by the Tigers. Tigers won the TPTL for the second season having won the 3rd edition also. TIPL played a very good tournament this season and had to be contented with the runner up prize.

R Ramesh, President gave away the winner trophy to the Tigers captain Govind Krishnakumar. The most valuable player award was given to Dr. Anand of Tigers. The team auction money were also given away by various dignitaries to the players. After the presentation ceremony the DJ night started with cocktails and dinner for the players.

With this the curtain came down TPTL 2019, yet another successful edition of the popular tournament.

22nd December

9:00AM

Its Trivandrum Tigers vs. TIPL Advantage in the Finals

The semi finals didn't turn up any surprises. Everything went as expected. In the 1st Semi finals Tigers took on Acers. The doubles were taken easily one each by both the teams. It came down to the single and the 1st set of the super tie break was taken by Anand George and he was looking in good touch. The Acers were keeping their fingers crossed and were hoping to pull of an upset but Dr Anand came back strong and took the next two sets and sealed the hopes of Acers.

In the second semi finals TIPL took on BP Slammers. In this tie too it came down to the singles and Jinu was no match for Priesh. Priesh won the 1st set easily 10-4. Jinu put up some resistance in the second but went down fighting 10-7. earlier in the double Kumaraswami and team had no problems winning their tie.

The finals today will be played between Tigers and TIPL. Tigers will be looking to win this tournament for the second time and TIPL will be gunning to register their maiden win.

21st December

9:00AM

Semi finals today : Tigers vs. Shanja & TIPL vs. Slammers

The semi finals are here finally. The 1st match will be played between Tigers and Shanja at 5 PM. Shanja will be looking to be in full strength today. On the books Tigers look to be stronger side but then in a match of this format nothing can be said. Much will hinge on the outcome of the Singles and for Anand of Shanja, he has to give his best if his team has any chance.

The second semi will be between TIPL and Slammers. Slammers will be going in with a lot of confidence after they edged out the Regals in the decider. This can be an interesting tie as TIPL can vary their team. The team of Santosh Koshi and Madhu Ganesh have been performing well and they are expected to win their match for the team. For Shanja to win the tie they will need to win another game and that may be a tough ask considering the fact that they have to possibly take on Priesh in the singles. The second double team of TIPL is also very strong. On the books it looks like it will be TIPL who will have the edge.

20th December

9:00AM

BP Slammers edge out Regals to qualify for the Semi Finals.

BP Slammers beat Geotrans Regals in a crucial tie to make it to the semi-finals. The team combinations of both the teams were as expected. Both the teams strategy was to win 1 double each and take the decider to the singles.

Col Kishor and Ajit of BP Slammers won their doubles in the 110+ category beating Sudeep and John Mathai of Regals 7-2. In the 95+ category Sanjay and Mahesh of Regals beat Dr Santosh and Shaji of Slammers 7-2. With 1-1 everything came down to the singles. Jinu of Slammers took on Aji of Regals in the most anticipated singles of the tournament so far. It was a tense game. The 1st game of the super tie break was taken by Aji 10-8. The second tie break was dominated by Jinu, Aji was seen fighting his nerves in the second tie break. Jinu won the second 10-6. With scores levelled at 1-1 it came down to the final tie break to decide the winner. It was a close game with both playing some good tennis, but it was Junu who came out stronger mentally. He eventually won 10-7. With this win BP Slammers join Tigers from Group A for the semi-finals.

The second tie was played between Tigers and TVS. The tie went as expected and Tigers beat TVS 2-1 and ended up with 3 points to top of the table. TVS had a disappointing outing and lost all their ties in the League stage.

The stage is now set for the Semi finals to be played on the 21st.

19th December

10:30PM

BP Slammers bt. Geotrans Regals 2-1

Trivandrum Tigers bt. TVS 2-1

19th December

8:30AM

TIPL and Shanja Acers qualify from Group B, TIPL tops the table

TIPL Advantage beat Shanja Acers 3-0 to top Group B with 3 points. Shanja Acers were below par today without their star single player Anand and one of their important double’s players Madhu Ganesh was also missing from the side. Shanja Acers with 2 points are placed second in the group and have thus qualified for the semi-finals. TIPL have been in great form this season. Out of the 9 matches played in 3 ties they managed to win 8 matches. By topping the group, they will now face the winners of the match between Geotrans Regals and BP Slammers in the semi-finals. Shanja Acers will take on Trivandrum Tigers in the other semi-finals match.

In the second tie of the evening FIFA Ace Kickers took on G Sand Raptors. This tie was particularly not of much importance since both the teams were knocked out of the tournament early. They were playing to secure the 3rd and 4th position within Group B. FIFA finally got their combination right and they managed to beat G Sand Raptors 2-1 securing the 3rd position in the group. For G Sand Raptors nothing went their way this season. They did have a very good side, but things didn’t fall in place for them. They lost all their ties.

Today’s tie between Geotrans Regards and BP Slammers will decide the 2nd team that will make it to the semi-finals and join Tigers from Group A. The second tie of today between Tigers an TVS will not be of any consequence, irrespective of the result Tigers will top the group and TVS will stay at the bottom at the bottom of Group A.

Today’s matches, Geotrans Regards vs. BP Slammers at 5PM followed by Trivandrum Tigers vs. TVS at 7PM. This will be last tie of the league stage. Tomorrow will be a rest day. 21st will be semi-final day followed by the finals on the 22nd.

18th December

8:45PM

TIPL Advatnage bt. Shanja Acers 3-0

FIFA Ace Kickers bt. G Sand Raptors 2-1

18th December

9:00AM

Geotrans Regals and Tigers Win, Tigers Qualify for Semi-finals

If one had to experience drama this TPTL it was all there in the 110+ clash between Geotrans Regals and TVS. The combination of Sudeep and John Mathai of Geotrans Regals took on Anil Aspara and NT Menon of TVS. It was a fact well know that the result of this match will be crucial in deciding the winner of the tie. It was tense for both the teams. In the early stages of the game TVS played with more composure to race away with a lead of 6-2 while the Regals team was struggling and fighting nerves. From 6-2 down and Sudeep serving for the 9th game the momentum began to swing in favor for the Regals. From the brink of defeat fighting 3 match points at various stages in the fight back Sudeep and John Mathai held on to their nerves to swing the game back and take the match to a tie breaker. John Mathai proved why is one of finest seniors players in the club, his game was pure class. At 6 all it was time for the tie breaker. TVS took the first 2 points of the tie breaker trying to put the pressure back on the Regards but the Regals played some flawless tennis and they eventually won 7-6 (7-2) in epic swing of fortunes.

With the 110+ win Geotrans was positioned comfortably as the next match was the 95+ category where the combination of Sanjay and Mahesh of Regals took on Suresh Kumar and AJ Roy of TVS. The Regals were too strong for the opposition and they won the match 7-3. With wins in the 95+ and 110+ category Regals had already won the tie even before the singles was played. In the singles MS Krishnakumar of TVS took on Aji PL of Regals. The result of this match went on the expected lines and MS Krishnakumar took the singles in straight sets 10-7, 10-6. With this win Geotrans Regals keep their hopes alive to make it to the semi-finals from Group A.

The 2nd tie of the evening was played between Trivandrum Tigers and BP Slammers. With Dr Anand back in the side for Tigers they had a plan and executed it perfectly. The 1st match of tie was played in the 110+ category. Jose and Padmakumar of Tigers took on Col. Kishor and Ajith Radhakrishnan of BP Slammers. The Slammers were too strong in this category and won the match 7-0. The second match of the tie was played between Govind Krishnakumar and Ajaykumar of Tigers vs. Dr Santhosh and Shaji of Slammers. The experience of Govind and Ajay was no match for the opposition, and they won 7-1 in an one-sided contest. With scores leveled at 1-1 the final match of the tie was the single where Dr. Anand of Tigers took on Jinu M John of Slammers. Dr Anand was too good for Jinu and he won convincingly in starlight sets 10-4, 10-3.

With this win the Tigers have qualified for the Semi-finals from Group A. TVS with two consecutive defeats are out of the race for a place in the semi-finals. With two more tie left to be played in Group A the tie between Geotrans Regals and BP Slammers will be a virtual quarter final. The winner of that tie will join Tigers for a place in the Semi Finals. In the other tie Tigers will take on TVS and look to consolidate their position in the group.

Today's matched of Group B will be played between TIPL Advantage and Shanja Acers at 5PM followed by G Sand Raptors and FIFA Ace Kickers at 7PM. With TIPL and Shanja Acers already through to the semi-finals their tie will decide who tops Group B.

17th December

9:00PM

Geotrans Regals bt. TVS 2-1

Trivandrum Tigers bt. BP Slammers 2-1

17th December

9:00AM

TIPL & Shanja Acers qualify for the Semi Finals from Group A

Day-3 of TPTL was do or die for both FIFA Ace Kickers and G Sand Raptors. Having lost their 1st ties both the teams had to register a win to keep their hopes alive for the semi-finals. As it turned out the opposition was too strong for them.

The 1st tie between FIFA and TIPL went in the most unexpected way. It was surprising to see FIFA play a suicidal combination once again. They played Suresh in the doubles and Praveen had to take on Priesh in the singles. This possibly was a costly mistake as Praveen is a strong doubles player while Suresh has a decent amount of singles experience to take on anyone.

The 1st match of the tie was played in the 95+ category and the team of Sathish Kumar and Vineeth Govind of TIPL took on Suresh and Renjit Mathew of FIFA. Sathish Kumar’s experience came handy and they held their nerves to come back strong to give TIPL their 1st win of the tie winning 7-5. In the singles Priesh was too good for Praveen. Priesh gave TIPL the second win by winning in straight sets 10-2, 10-5. This was enough for TIPL to seal the fate of FIFA. The third match in 110+ category was the combination of Najeem and Reji of FIFA who took on Kumaraswamy and Nizamudeen of TIPL. It was a closely contested match with long rallies and moon balls. It was again TIPL who came out victorious to register a 3-0 win in the tie. It must have been absolutely delighting for the TIPL team owner Benoy, who was cheering for his team from the members gallery. With this win TIPL have ensured themselves a place in the Semi Finals. They will next take on Shanja Acers on 18th to decide who will top the table in Group A.

The second tie of the evening was played between G Sand Raptors and Shanja Acers. It was a do or die for the Raptors. The team combination looked right and Raptors were focused on taking both their doubles games.

The 1st match was the 110+ category. H Krishnamoorthy and George Mathew of Raptors had no difficulty in dispatching Prof. Radhakrishnan and Shivashankar of Acers. They won 7-1 and it was a result that both teams would have expected. The next match was the singles where Anand of Shanja Acers took on Laxminarayanan of Raptors. It was an interesting gamble to play Lakshmi in singles as he has an unorthodox game and can pose discomfort to seasoned players. Surprisingly the 1st set of the super tie break went to Lakshmi. The plan was working and Anand was visibly fighting his nerves while Lakshmi was playing his typical slow game and forcing errors from his opponent. The second set was tense and the score line was moving parallelly. At 10-10 it looked as if Lakshmi was about to create a major upset, but Anand held his nerves to take the second set 12-10. From there Anand found his game and showed some class to seal the 3rd set 10-1.

With scores leveled at 1-1 it came down to the all important 95+. Rajeev and Kuriakose of Raptors took on Santhosh Koshy and Madhu Ganesh of Acers. Much was expected of this match. Both Rajeev’s experience and tactical play and Kuriakose’s aggressive game play fell short when it was most needed. Koshy played a steady game and was well supported by Madhu. Throughout the match the Acres looked in control and won 7-2. Acers won the tie 2-1. With this win the Acers became the second team to have booked their place in the semi-finals. It must have been heart breaking for the Raptors given the fact that had a very good team this season.

The next tie of Group B will decide who will top the group when TIPL take on Shanja Acers tomorrow. G Sand Raptors will also be in action and take on FIFA. Both will be playing for honour by registering a win.

Today’s match will be played between TVS and Geotrans Regals at 5PM followed by Tigers and BP Slammers at 7PM.

16th December

9:30PM

That's the end of the 2nd match of day 3 and Shanja Acers bt. G Sand Raptors 2-1

TIPL Advantage and Shanja Acers with their respective wins today have qualified for the Semi finals from Group B with 2 points each, with one match to be played by all the teams in Group B its yet to be seen who will top the group.

16th December

7:30PM

That's the end of the 1st match today and TIPL Advantage bt. FIFA Ace Kickers 3-0

The next tie is between G Sand Raptors and Shanja Acers.

16th December

8:00AM

Tigers and Slammers Win

The evening matches of Group A turned out to produce some very surprising results. Tigers beat Regals in a tie that looked to be working in favor of Regals when the team combinations were disclosed. It was the combination that Regals would have wished for. But the Tigers team of Jose and Padmakumar showed some real determination to beat John Mathai and Mahesh that turned the fortunes in their favor. Tigers eventually won the tie 2-1 winning their singles and the 110+. In the 95+ Sanjay and Sudeep beat Ajay and Thomas Mathew. Tigers are the team to watch out for and this win will taste sweet for them given the fact they had to play without Dr Anand who is one of their star singles players. They would now be eyeing to win their next 2 ties. Regals will be regretting this loss as it would have made their entry into the semi finals easy. The next game of Regals is with TVS on the 17th. it will be a crucial one for both the teams since both have lost their 1st ties.

The second tie of the evening was played between the defending champion TVS and BP Slammers. TVS was crushed 3-0. TVS possibly made some strategic mistakes in their team combination. With MS Krishnakumar in the team they had a game in their pocket but the gamble to play him in doubles just did not click. Col Kishor and Ajit played a fantastic game to beat MS Krishnakumar and NT Menon in a match that was of top quality. In the singles Jinu of BP slammers came back strong to beat Anil. The game was grueling with long rallies with both showing nerves of steel to keep the ball in play till one faltered. Eventually Jinu came out victorious but the match could have gone either way. In The final match of the tie Kathiresh and Sureshkumar of TVS took on Dr Santosh and Shaji but they could never get into the game and lost that match 7-1 giving Slammers all the 3 matches.

The matches for 16th will be played between

TIPL Advantage and FIFA Ace Kickers 5PM

GF Sand raptors and Shanja Acers 7PM

TIPL will be going strong into the tie after registering their 1st win with Raptors. Raptors will be hoping to register their 1st win today but they will have to battle their way out with a very strong singles players of Acers, Anand. But then TPTL is a game of surprises. You never know who will play in which category. Since today's matches will be the 2nd tie of Group B we may just be seeing the semi-finals line up getting clearer.

15th December

9:30PM

Trivandrum Tigers bt. Geotrans Regals 2-1

BP Slammers bt. TVS 3-0

15th December

9:45AM

Shanja Acers bt. FIFA Ace Kickers 2-1 on court no 5

TIPL Advantage bt. G Sand raptors 2-1 on court no 6

Check out the Points Table for more details

14th December

7:15PM

Today's matches will be played tomorrow morning at 7 AM on courts 5 and 6. Teams will have to report at 6:45 AM. Its party time at TTC now and the teams are having a ball with drink and dinner to follow.

14th December

6:40PM

Bad news, its raining again and the matches have been officially called off today. Stay tuned for more updates.

14th December

5:30PM

The inauguration of TPTL is underway and are excepted to have the 1st match at 7 PM.

14th December

4:08PM

There is official conformation that the inauguration will take place as per schedule at 4:45 PM.

Players have been asked to get ready to play. This is super news!

14th December

3:45PM

Things are looking much better. We may have matches today if there is no more rain. The courts are beginning to dry. Looks encouraging.

14th December

3:00PM

There has been a heavy downpour and we may have a wash out if the rain continues. The courts look bad. We can only hope the rain will stop and we can have at least a late start.

14th December

2:40PM

Disaster!

Looks like its going to pour. This may turn out bad. Are we looking at a wash out on day-1. The organizers are keeping their fingers crossed.

14th December

9:30AM

Match day finally!

The club has been buzzing with activity since morning today. Most of the star players have arrived. The poster and decor are in place. The inauguration is schedules for 4:45PM and John Mathat IAS former Chief Secretary will be inaugurating this years TPTL.

12th December

With just 2 days remaining for the start of TPTL 2019 the teams are warming up well. The last of the official practice sessions will conclude today. Many of the outstation players are expected to arrive in the next one or two days time. These are anxious moments for the team owners. Everything looks set and the team captains are confident of putting up a good show in the league stage. There have been no injury scare or pullouts reported by any team. The weather is holding up well and hope we will have clear skies during the entire duration of the tournament.

Weather forcast 14th - 22nd December

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