Day three of IPTL action pitted Manila Mavericks against the Indian Aces for the first session. Indian Aces chose not to send the crafty Santoro, but instead fielded fellow Frenchman, Cedric Pioline. The all-courter will face Mark Philippoussis of Manila Mavericks, who has won all his matches so far. Pioline’s all-court game did trouble Mark for a while, but once the Australian steadied himself, his massive game was enough to give him a close 6-4 win.
Women’s singles was next, with Ana Ivanovic taking on Kirsten Flipkens. Ana raced out of the blocks this time, and quickly established a good lead. The Serbian had too much power for the Belgian, as she scored precious points for the Indian Ace to lead again. Ana won 6-2, and the total game score is now 10-8 to the Aces’ favour.
The formidable pairing of Mirza/Bopanna suffered their first loss so far, playing an error-ridden set to concede the set to Flipkens/Nestor. Mirza was the weak link this time, leaking multiple mistakes from her racquet. The Manila Mavericks just had to be steady, and the 6-2 set was in their bag.
Treat Huey is having the time of his life in IPTL, showing the crowd what he is capable of. Despite being dwarfed by his more established colleagues, the Filipino stepped up when needed, and was a monster at the net. Banking on his superior doubles play, Huey/Tsonga sped away with the 6-2 set against Bopanna/Monfils. The Manila Mavericks are now firmly in control, leading 20-14 in games.
They both came from France and just played in the same team last month in Davis Cup. This time, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils are in opposing teams, and it made for good drama in the match. These 2 know each other’s game well, so it’s no surprise that their normally dependable services got broken so many times. Monfils took advantage of a dip in Tsonga’s level of play and actually clinched the set 6-4. However, the Indian Aces have a chance to catch up as long as the Mavericks do not win a game. Tsonga made sure that will not happen as he won his service game convincingly. The Indian Aces suffered their second consecutive loss in 2 days, 20-25.
The match that everyone has been waiting for began first. Wozniacki is making her IPTL debut, and it is against her very good friend, Serena Williams. As with their last match, Serena was slow off the blocks, and Caroline raced to quick lead. Ever the fighter, Serena started to hit with more authority, and managed to even the score. At 5-5, a shootout was required, and it was as close as it gets. Williams won the point at 5 points all, and the set.
Serena is trying her best to reverse her mixed doubles fortune. This time, she partnered her last option, Tomas Berdych, having had zero success with her previous 3 partners. Mladenovic and Zimonjic are doubles specialists, but the American/Czech pairing was surprisingly good. The Slammers complemented each other with their power game, and Serena finally enjoyed her first mixed doubles win by edging the Royals 6-4.
Although Singapore has won the first 2 sets, they were extremely close wins. Andre Agassi decided to sit this set out and field Patrick Rafter against Goran Ivanisevic. This is a rematch of the classic 2001 Wimbledon final, where Ivanisevic won an epic 5 setter. For Rafter’s debut in Singapore, he played the game as if he was still an active player, net-rushing at every opportunity. Goran was more patient and took advantage of some loose errors from Pat. The Croat emerged victorious again like the Wimbledon final, winning the set 6-4
With the game score at 16-15, Berdych needed to win his match to avoid the Royals from catching up. The reigning US Open Marin Cilic fought hard to keep things close, but Tomas grabbed the crucial break at 5-4 to win the set. He ended the set with a thundering forehand winner on the run. Singapore Slammers are on the verge of yet another victory.
Nick Krygios and Lleyton Hewitt took to the courts next in men’s doubles against Nenad Zimonjic and Marin Cilic. Hewitt is actually an excellent doubles player, having won a Grand Slam doubles title back in 2000. Krygios in comparison is purely a singles player who has never won a doubles match on tour before, so it will be very much up to Lleyton if Slammers want to win this tie. True enough, the flashy but indisciplined Krygios was the first to lose serve. Despite having fought back, the Slammers lost the set 4-6. As the Royals have the chance to level the score, Hewitt knew he had to hold his serve to secure victory. He did it convincingly and now the Singapore Slammers have 2 victories in 2 days.
With this, the Singapore leg of IPTL draws to an end. 3 days of world-class tennis has entertained the fans and the players themselves. Tennis is an individual sport, but you can see that some players really enjoy being in a team. Seeing the players’ camaraderie in the team was a refreshing change to the sport. However, tennis purists will be aghast at the various tinkering made to the game. The event could be better managed with a short explanation on the new rules before the match starts. The players themselves are pretty confused with the new additions, delaying more time in the process. Nevertheless, any sort of tennis action is fine by me. This ends yet another tennis outing by me. I hope you have enjoyed my reporting, and I’ll see you again next year!
About the writerAs an avid tennis fan, Sean Long keeps up to date with the happenings of the world of tennis. He lives and breathes tennis and also plays the sport. Aside from tennis, Sean maintains his health by sweating it out at the gym and enjoys food and travel.
