THE MANILA CROWD on day 3 of the Philippine leg saw the best match of the second edition of International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) between the home side Philippine Mavericks and defending champions Indian Aces.
Two evenly matched teams, with the brilliance of Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and Milos Raonic displayed some electrifying action to thrill the capacity crowd at the Mall of Asia in Manila.
After two sets all and 19 games apiece, the tie had all the makings of a down to the wire shoot-out and in the final set Nadal and Raonic certainly lived up to the expectation by producing edge of a seat thriller.
After a cat and mouse game between the two leading players in the ATP Tour, it was the Canadian who edged Nadal in a shoot-out to clinch the tie for the Mavericks. Despite the loss, the Indian Aces remain at the top of the points table, with the Philippine Mavericks breathing down their neck at no.2.
First up, in the legends action, Mark Philippoussis got the better of Magician Fabrice Santoro. The Aussie played big-time tennis and kept exerting pressure on the Frenchman. Mavericks’ captain fired 6 aces across the net during the set and won most of his exchanges against his compatriot. In the end, Philippoussis won the set 6-4.
The visitors, not used to losing, took it away in the men’s doubles with Dodig/Nadal showcasing doubles tennis of the highest order. Nadal with his quick reflexes on the net, and superlative shot-making was the cynosure of all eyes, winning it for the visitors 6-4 against the pairing of Gasquet/Vasselin.
The mixed doubles was an Aces show all the way; with the experienced Indian pairing of Mirza/Bopanna proving far too superior for Williams/Huey, giving the Aces a 2-1 lead by winning their set 6-3.
In the fourth set of the evening, Serena Williams proved just why she is such a tennis powerhouse. Winning her set 6-3 for the home team against Samantha, Serena capped her second IPTL stint in fine fashion, promising home fans a come back next year.
In the most awaited match of the evening, tennis fans welcomed Nadal and Raonic for the singles game. It was a nail-biting match, right till the last point was played. The Mavericks, charged by a very vocal fan base on home turf, and big-serving Raonic, took the set in a cracker of a shoot-out 6-5.
An elated Raonic after the game expressed his delight,
“I just played my game, stuck to the plan. With Rafa out there, I knew I had to keep the points short, not let him control the game, and that’s just what I did. It is exciting to play the way we did all three nights in front of home fans, winning all our matches here. We had a great captain in Mark, picking his player rotation the way he did, starting out in exceptional fashion winning the opening set each time, which was very motivating. It’s a great format, very audience-friendly and tv-friendly; we have a great atmosphere in the team, and are looking forward to taking this winning streak into the next leg.”