The International Premier Tennis league got off to an impressive start with UAE Royals beating Singapore Slammers as the star-studded tournament made its debut in here on Wednesday.
A packed house at the Kobe World Hall cheered as the Royals won 26-20.
Ana Ivanovic won the women’s singles 6-3 over Belinda Bencic to give the Royals a winning start.
Next up in the men’s singles, the power-packed shot making of Tomas Berdych and Nick Kyrgios was a hit with the crowd. Kyrgios won convincingly (6-2) for the Slammers, the only set his team won during the evening.
In the men’s doubles, Tomas Berdych/Daniel Nestor showcased some brilliant shot-making against the clever play of Marcelo Melo/Dustin Brown, though the Royals emerged 6-5 victorious.
The combination of Kristina Mladenovic and Nestor and Goran Ivanisevic showed their class by taking the last two sets — mixed doubles and men’s legends singles respectively — with relative ease, giving the Royals a terrific start in season 2 of the IPTl.
On IPTl’s Japan debut, Kyrgios added, “I love Japan, my sister lives here, I love the culture, the food. Absolute loving it here right now.”
Indian Aces edge Warriors
Making their IPTl debut in season two, the legendari Japan Warriors won hearts in a packed arena, even as the Micromax Indian Aces won a closely contested battle 25-24.
It was sizzling mixed doubles match Maria Sharapova/Pierre-Hugues Herbert beat Sania Mirza/Rohan Bopanna 6-5.
The women’s singles saw Sharapova win yet again to much joy of the home fans who were out in huge numbers to support their home team. Hitting three aces, Sharapova won the match 6-4 against Samantha Stosur .
Getting their groove back, the Aces were quick on their feet to win the next two sets in quick succession. In the legends action, tennis fans got a glimpse of Fabrice ‘Magician’ Santoro who beat Marat Safin 6-2.
In the most awaited match of the evening, home star Kei Nishikori edged Gael Monfils 6-4.
After the match, Sharapova said:”It’s great to be playing at the IPTl. It’s great that the IPTl can take tennis to newer places and bring fans closer to their stars.”
Home favourite Kei Nishikori added: “It was great experience for me to be a part of the IPTl because I got to could play with so many great men’s and women’s tennis players, with whom you do not usually play.”