IVO KARLOVIC’s BIG SERVING in the fifth and final set of the evening against Roger Federer helped the Philippine Mavericks score a close win (26-24) over the UAE Royals in the second match of the Dubai leg of the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) yesterday.
Karlovic, who was seen in the recently-concluded Champions Tennis League (CTL), appeared to be in fine form and wasted no time in adjusting to the conditions in Dubai.
After four sets and 20 games all, both teams entered the deciding set and fancied their chances. But it was the debutant Karlovic who topped the Swiss maestro to give team Mavericks a crucial win.
First up, UAE Royals’ captain Goran Ivanisevic took to the court to face debutant James Blake in the legends category. The American, who was called in as a last minute replacement for the injured Mark Philippoussis wasted little time in adjusting to the conditions and started playing some fine tennis and stayed tough with his counterpart.
Both men served big, and while Ivanisevic continued to unleash his forehands, Blake produced some vintage stuff on his backhand. In the end, the set was pushed into a shoot-out and it was the debutant who topped Ivanisevic to nail a crucial win for the visitors 6-5.
In the women’s singles, UAE’s Kristina Mladenovic came out firing on all cylinders against Mavericks’ Aija Tomlajanovic and raced to an unassailable lead 4-1. While, the French lady had little problems going for winners, the Australian visibly struggled on the court. In the end, a 6-2 win for the Royals evened things up at one set apiece.
Both ladies stayed onto the court for some mixed doubles action. Here, the Mavericks’ pair of Gajdosova /Vasselin came up with some stunning shots to keep their noses in front against Mladenovic/Cilic. As expected a few breaks of serves made things more interesting in this clash and as a result, the set was pushed into another shoot-out. In the end,
Gajdosova’s high percentage tennis coupled with expensive errors from the Royals’ pairing was enough for the Mavericks to grab the set 6-5.
Into the men’s doubles, the formidable pairing of Marin Cilic/Federer started well against the experienced duo of Treat Huey/Vasselin in the initial stages. As the match progressed, the Mavericks’ pair exerted pressure on their opponents and got the crucial break seal the match 6-4.
At 20 games apiece, the last set promised some high-octane tennis and had all the makings of nail-biting thriller. It was a simple equation for both teams: win the set, win the match.
Karlovic had a tough job on his hands taking on the maestro and crowd favourite Federer. As expected, the Croat started serving bombs and had little issues in holding his serve. On the other hand, Federer too mixed it up nicely and cruised through his service games. Just when it appeared that the set was heading into another shoot-out, the Croat broke Federer and served it out quickly to nail the set and the tie for his team.
Speaking after the match, Federer said,
“It was a tough match today. We got off to a good start. We looked good there for a while. But the mixed doubles ran away with it. And in the singles, I always knew it would be a tough match, he’s a tough guy to play against, especially against him, and in this format, where things can turn around very quickly. But I loved it. I had a good time.”
He added, “I’ve played 4 games so far, lost all four, it’s not the way you want it to be. It’s a quick format, anything can happen. The pressure in the IPTL Is different. You are playing with less pressure, you are not playing for ranking points, but there is pressure still. You have 5-6 guys sitting on the bench, motivating you … you want to do well for them, you want to do well for the team, you want to do well for the fans. So the pressure never really leaves. You see it with the legends, and you see how much they are going after it, and they retired a long time ago. And they’re still getting nervous when it gets important. That’s the beauty of playing tennis. That’s why it’s tough to hang up the racquet. Those are the moments you play for, even though you may not enjoy them the most, but those are the memories you enjoy the most!”