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State of Djokovic's game, new offseason league, more mail
Kudos to Mahesh Bhupathi for signing up big names for his International Premier Tennis League. How many will actually play remains to be seen, but this is a great beginning. Given players' interest (for whatever reason), an event like this should replace Davis/Fed Cup. Don't get me wrong; these two team competitions have great history and still some significance. But increasingly players are becoming multinational. Victoria Azarenka, Maria Sharapova, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and probably many more live and train outside their home country. Post-nation (beyond-country?) initiatives like the IPTL can be more successful. It's a shame that the ATP/WTA/ITF dropped the ball on this idea and let someone else take the lead. What do you think?
-- Sumit, Jersey City, N.J.
• The best point from last week.
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Jon Wertheim is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated and has been part of the full-time SI writing staff since 1997, largely focusing on the tennis beat, sports business and social issues, and enterprise journalism. In addition to his work at SI, he is a correspondent for “60 Minutes” and a commentator for The Tennis Channel. He has authored 11 books and has been honored with two Emmys, numerous writing and investigative journalism awards, and the Eugene Scott Award from the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Wertheim is a longtime member of the New York Bar Association (retired), the International Tennis Writers Association and the Writers Guild of America. He has a bachelor’s in history from Yale University and received a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He resides in New York City and Paris with his wife, who is a divorce mediator and adjunct law professor. They have two children.