THE INDIAN ACES in front of their home fans came up with another stunning performance for a convincing win over the Japan Warriors (26-21) in the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) IN New Delhi yesterday.
Like always, the Aces’ pair of Mirza/Bopanna came up with another clinical performance in the first set to set the tone for the entire match. Rafael Nadal might not have taken court yesterday, but the home team continued to play as a cohesive unit, owing to which remain at the top of the points table.
First up, in the mixed doubles Mirza/Bopanna continued their dream run in the tournament and played some high percentage tennis to involve the home crowd. The pair of Herbert/Baroni had little answers to the Aces’ duo. In the end, it was an easy victory for the Indian pair 6-4.
In the women’s singles, Agnieszka Radwanska played some scratchy tennis at the beginning, but found her way back to obtain the lead. Japan did try with Kurumi Nara and Baroni, but the Polish player had too much control and variety to notch up another comfortable win 6-2.
Men’s doubles saw the momentum swing from one team to the other. While Bopanna/Dodig continued their fine coordination and tactics, the Japan pair of Paes/Herbert put up an equally good show to stay in the hunt. Moreover, the backing and support of Delhi fans too lifted Paes’ spirits high.
In the end, the match had to be decided by a shoot-out, but since both teams upped the ante, the set further had to be decided by a sudden death point. Here, Paes/Herbert had the last laugh 6-5.
In the legends singles, magician Fabrice Santoro came up with another clinical performance and had little difficulties in dismissing his Japan’s Thomas Enquist 6-3.
In the fifth and final set of the evening, Herbert and Dodig indulged in some exciting exchanges from the baseline and came up with some incredible winners to get the crowd excited. That said, an early break was enough for Herbert to nail the set 6-4.
At the post mast press conference Mirza spoke about a closely knit Indian Aces and the highly anticipated Federer-Nadal clash.
“We are a great team, we get along really well, clearly nobody wants us to win, but it’s great to keep up the winning form. Tennis is such a lonely sport in that sense, we travel alone on the tour and problem-solve at an individual level. But the IPTL has been different. We are all enjoying the team bonding. We look out for each other during matches. It’s great to have had Roger Federer in our team last year, but this year, we have an equally good replacement for him (jokingly), and it’s great to have Rafa on our team. We are looking forward to seeing the great Roger-Rafa clash tomorrow!”
Bopanna too echoed similar thoughts,
“The team is playing really well, we’re enjoying a great run of form, all of us together, and it’s great to be winning here on home turf. Looking forward to seeing Rafa-Roger play it out tomorrow.”