THE INDIAN ACES produced their most dominating performance of this year’s International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) by hammering the Philippine Mavericks 30-12 in the second match of the opening day at the Indira Gandhi stadium in New Delhi.
From set one to the last, the hosts whitewashed the visitors, owing to which the Aces have furthered widened the gap at the top between them and the others in the points table.
First up, the in-form pair of Bopanna/Mirza displayed clinical, mixed doubles tennis against the pairing of Huey/Tomljanovic.
The Indian pair exerted relentless pressure on their opponents to get the job done without much trouble 6-2. The big serving of Bopanna and effective volleys of Mirza was a treat for the local fans in Delhi.
In the second set of the evening, debutant Agnieszka Radwanska showed absolutely no signs of rustiness as she got into her grove by racing to a 2-0 lead. The Polish player came up with her trademark shots from the baseline to brush aside the challenge of Australian Jarmila Jagdosova 6-1.
Aces’ captain Fabrice Santoro then had revenge on his minds in the legends category against Mavericks’ captain Mark Philippoussis. The Frenchman produced some exquisite tennis to upset the rhythm of the Aussie and kept winning the crucial points.
In the end, Santoro broke his compatriot twice in the set to win 6-1. After three sets, the hosts were miles ahead at 18-4 and the visitors had a mountain to climb.
In the fourth set, Mavericks’ Huey/Vasselin did show signs fighting back, but the pair of Nadal/Bopanna came up with some spectacular shots to win the vital points.
The duo had complete crowd support and capitalized on driving the winning momentum. In the end, one break of serve was all that the Aces’ pair needed to win the entertaining men’s doubles set 6-4.
In the fifth and final set of the evening, Nadal took on Vasselin in what proved to be another comfortable win for the home team. The Spaniard displayed some stunning tennis in the first three games of the set to keep his nose in front.
That said, Nadal’s level dropped and the Frenchman picked up his by hitting some clean winners. In the end, the 14-time Grand Slam champion drew upon all his experience to shut the door on his opponent and the Mavericks.
It was a complete rout by the home team at the end and the Aces will play their second match of the Delhi leg tomorrow against the Japan Warriors. Meanwhile, the Mavericks will hope for a better showing against the Singapore Slammers.