THE PHILIPPINE MAVERICKS and the UAE Royals will play their final game of the league stages in the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) today in Singapore.
While the Mavericks don’t have a realistic chance of qualifying for the finals, the Royals still have a great chance of making the cut. The Royals are currently placed behind the Singapore Slammers and would need to win this tie by a decent margin to secure their place in the finals.
For the Royals, Roger Federer won’t be available today and Marin Cilic will have to step up. For the Mavericks though, it’s all about playing for pride. TFG analyses the game and predicts the winner of the match between the Royals and Mavericks.
LEGENDS SINGLES
James Blake will once again take the court for the Mavericks in place of the injured Mark Philippoussis. On the other side of the net, Goran Ivanisevic will be brimming with all the confidence after his inspired performance yesterday. The Royals will bank on the Croat to come out firing and going by the big match temperament, expect Goran to lead the way once again for his team.
Winner: Ivanisevic
WOMEN’S SINGLES
Both Jarmila Gajdosova and Kristina Mladenovic have been scratchy throughout the tournament in the singles competition. Expect both women to struggle on their serve. That said, the Frenchwoman has enough match practice under her belt and will bank on her experience to eke out a win here. Also, the Australian is prone to crack under pressure.
Winner: Mladenovic
MIXED DOUBLES
Two inconsistent teams will be locking horns in this category. While Nestor/Mladenovic have settled down as a pair, Vasselin/Gajdosova too have blown hold and cold as a team. Expect the women’s serve to be broken at regular intervals. That said, Nestor’s experience and match awareness might carry the Royals through this tricky set.
Winners: Nestor/Mladenovic
MEN'S DOUBLES
As usual, expect a whole repertoire of tennis shots in this category. All four men concerned have enough matches under their belt and will pull out their bag full of tricks to entertain the crowd. A potential shoot-out on the cards. Cilic is likely to be targeted by the pair of Huey/Vasselin. Nestor will once again try to even things out for the Royals, but the Mavericks’ pair likely to edge their opponents here.
Winners: Huey/Vasselin
MEN’S SINGLES
This will certainly be a contest between two big servers in men’s tennis today. Expect plenty of bombs being served and we are likely to go down the shoot-out route. Both Croat’s will have no secrets between them and it will be interesting to see who holds the nerve. For the evening, the former US Open is likely to trump his compatriot in a tight battle.
Winner: Cilic
The Mavericks will nothing to lose will come out swinging, but the Royals have everything at stake in a must win game and will be determined to produced a collective team performance. Federer might have left the scene but the Royals still have plenty of firepower, depth and variety to comfortably beat the Mavericks and further strengthen their case for a place in Sunday’s finals.