Hyderabad: The Indian Aces maintained their lead at the top of the International Premier Tennis League with an impressive victory over Singapore Slammers at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium here on Friday.
The hosts were least hospitable as they served the curry too hot to scorch the Slammers on a nippy night. Ivan Dodig and Feliciano Lopez gave the home side a rousing start with a 6-2 demolition of Marcos Bhagdatis and Marcelo Melo in the men’s doubles. A little later, Feliciano Lopez humiliated an erratic Nick Kyrgios 6-0 as the Aces took a massive 12-2 lead.
Kiki Bertens then pulled some points back for the Slammers with a 6-2 win over Kirsten Flipkens and Carlos Moya edged past Thomas Enqvist 6-4 in the legends singles to consolidate but hometown hero Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna got the better of Marcos Bhagdatis and Kiki Bertens 6-5 (7-2) in the decider to script a 24-19 win.
Earlier, Japan Warriors pulled the rug from under the UAE Royals’ feet to make an emphatic start to the last leg of the IPTL. The Samurais won 25-20 to push the Royals to the brink while placing themselves in firm contention for the second spot alongside Singapore Slammers.
The finalists will be decided after Saturday’s matches – Slammers vs Warriors and Aces vs Royals. Marat Safin got the Warriors off to a flying start with a dominant 6-3 victory over Goran Ivanisevic in the legends singles that was a towering contest, literally.
Next up was Kurumi Nara against Ana Ivanovic in the women’s singles. Faced with an opponent with a wider reach, the Japanese found the challenge a bit too strong even as she ran around the court chasing the Serbian’s powerful, often sharply angled shots. Ana did not take her foot off the pedal and raced to a 6-1 win to bridge the gap between the teams.
She continued her good form into the mixed doubles alongside Daniel Nestor to give the Dutch-Serbian pair of Jean-Julian Rojer and Jelena Jankovic a tremendous fight before succumbing 6-5 (7/5). That was exactly the tonic Rojer needed. He was buoyant as he walked on to the court in the men’s doubles along with teammate Fernando Verdasco and blew away the challenge of Tomas Berdych and Pablo Cuevas 6-0.
The Royals tried their best to fight back into the tie via Tomas Berdych in men’s singles – the final match – but Verdasco was equal to the task as the game ended 6-6, signalling victory for the Warrior.
