THE INDIAN ACES entered the match against the Philippine Mavericks with a (0-6) handicap in the legends category, but still had enough firepower to clinch the tie (24-23) in the opening match of the second day of Dubai leg of International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) yesterday.
The moment Aces captain, Fabrice Santoro withdrew from the tie citing sickness, the table toppers came into the match against the Mavericks on the back-foot. Moreover, after Rafael Nadal’s exit from the tournament, all hopes were strongly pinned on Bernard Tomic in the men’s singles category.
In the end, the Aussie delivered his best tennis in the final set and helped the Aces maintain their amazing run in the tournament. The Indian Aces are now sitting pretty at the top and have further narrowed the gap between them and the other four teams.
In the first match, Rohan Bopanna stepped up to play for the Aces in the legends category in place of a sick Santoro and took on James Blake. Although, Bopanna served bombs and breezed through to win the set 6-0, the Mavericks still got 6 games to their credit. (As per the rules: In the legends category, only another legend can replace the other. In this case, Bopanna is still a current player and therefore all the six games were declared in favour of the Mavericks).
In the women’s singles, Agnieszka Radwanska and Ajla Tomlajanovic looked scratchy in the initial stages. However, both women started exchanging long balls from the backcourt and soon the Polish player gained the advantage by breaking the Australian. In the end, Radwanska variety and experience helped her nail the set 6-4.
In the mixed doubles, Mirza/Bopanna came into the set as heavy favourites and lived up to their billing by executing some stunning shots. The Indian duo never looked to be under the gun and also managed to break their opponents Gajdosova/Vasselin to grab the set 6-4.
Surprisingly, rain caused temporary intervention after the third set and play was called off for almost an hour. In the fourth set, Bopanna/Dodig and Huey/Vasselin produced another display of top-class doubles tennis.
All four men engaged in some brilliant shot-making. From big serves, deft volleys to big winners of both flanks, the set had everything. As expected, the set headed into a shoot-out and once again the Aces’ pair 6-5.
In the fifth set of the evening, Tomic produced his best tennis of the competition. Playing against the big serving Ivo Karlovic, the Aussie had difficulties in dealing with the booming serves, but hung in there and seized the moment for a break and won the set 6-4.
After the win Sania said,
“We’re a really strong team, and everyone wants us to lose! Fabrice called in sick with a fever today. But we’re hungry to win each time we step out on the court as a team. We’re more or less the same team as last year, with a few additions and subtractions. That said, we play to win, and are happy with our performance today!”