MATCH REPORT: Royals leave Dubai on a winning note, Warriors' misery continues

THE UAE ROYALS got back to their winning ways after defeating the Japan Warriors in a closely fought (26-22) tie in the final day of the Dubai leg of International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) yesterday. 

After Roger Federer gave the tie a miss for the Royals, it was Marin Cilic who stepped up to the occasion and played a vital role in the singles and doubles to help the home team register an important win. After yesterday’s victory, the Royals remain in contention for a spot in the finals. 

First up, things didn’t get off to a promising start for the hosts as an inspired Marat Safin, who was coming out of an injury put up an inspired performance to beat Royals’ Goran Ivanisevic. The Russian played a more solid game from the baseline and reduced the errors to get a crucial win in the legends category 6-3. 

Up next, Marin Cilic played lights-out tennis against Philip Kohlschreiber and in whisker raced to a 3-0 lead. The Croat weight of shots and big serves was proving too much as the German was getting drummed. 

That said, Kohlschreiber tried to hang tough in the middle stages of the set, but Cilic’ consistency was just too good for the evening. In the end, Royals grabbed the set comfortably 6-3. 

In the men’s doubles, Cilic/Nestor played some stunning tennis in the initial stages of the set and looked poised for an easy win. But the pairing of Paes/Herbert hit back with some brilliance of their own. 

The set saw quite a few breaks of serve and finally we headed into a shoot-out. Having lost their way for a brief moment, Cilic/Nestor regained their composure to nail the set 6-5.

At the end, of three sets, the home team was leading by 18 games to 14 and in the fourth set of the evening, Kristina Mladenovic came up with some high percentage tennis against Kirsten Flipkens to further extend the lead. 

While the Frenchwoman served big and went broke on her forehand, the American kept committing some expensive errors. In the end, Mladenovic wrapped up the set 6-2 in just 21 minutes. Now, the hosts were miles ahead of the visitors and had already nailed the tie going into the final set of the evening. 

And, then in the fifth set, the Warriors’ pair of Flipkens/Herbert got the consolation win over Nestor/Mladenovic in the mixed doubles. The mixed doubles set might not have provided fans with some vintage doubles tennis, but the set certainly went the distance and created some drama towards the end. Another shoot-out seemed inevitable as Flipkens/Herbert closed it out 6-5. 

After the win an elated Mladenovic said, 

“Stepping on to the court I knew it was an important set for us, to win as many games as possible. I had just seen an extremely close set the previous one (the men’s doubles), so it was important for us to win this too. I was lucky to make it happen in the women’s singles. Going into the Singapore leg,we are going to fight for every point, and try to make it to the finals. Basically we are three teams fighting for the second spot, and we will give it our 100%! Everyone wants to win in the team. The format is so fast, the points are quick, anything can happen … that is the magic of the IPTL!”