UAE Royals stop Manila Mavericks; Singapore Slammers notch 1st win

CEBU, Philippines - The Manila Mavericks’ two-match winning run was snapped Wednesday as the UAE Royals got back on the winning track, 26-21, to move to solo second in the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL).

The Royals leaned on the mixed doubles pair of Kristina Mladenovic and Nenad Zimonjic’s exploits to stop the Mavericks’ surge in the second day of the Singapore leg held at the Indoor Stadium in the Lion City.

US Open champion Marin Cilic took down Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the men’s singles, 6-4, but it was the pair of Mladenovic and Zimonjic, who virtually sealed the match with their 6-1 victory against Daniel Nestor and Kristina Flipkens in the mixed doubles.

The Mavericks were still leading, 16-14, when the Royals turned the match around in the final two sets and ran away with their third win five matches.

“I’ve been playing every match so far, doubles and mixed doubles. It’s tough. You’ve got to stay focused because every point counts. A little lack of concentration could cost you the match and I think it’s important,” Zimonjic later said in the post-match news conference.

Her partner Mladenovic rode on the momentum of their mixed doubles triumph, wrapping up the match with a 6-4 win against Flipkens.

The Mavericks appeared poise to rack up their third straight win when Mark Philippoussis recovered just in time to fend off Goran Ivanisevic’ fightback in the legends game. Ivanisevic came back from 1-3 deficit to force a five-minute shootout. Philippoussis took care of business in the shootout and won his third straight.

“This is the best I’ve served. I felt like I had great rhythm tonight,” Philippoussis said.

The Mavericks last led with the pair of Tsonga and Treat Huey delivering again a magical performance in the men’s double beating Cilic and Zimonjic, 6-3.

It proved to be the Mavericks’ last stand as they tumbled to their third loss in five matches.

World No. 1 Serena Williams overcame an early onslaught from Serbian Ana Ivanovic to give the DBS Singapore Slammers a 6-4 opening-set win in a tightly contested battle.

The lead changed hands in the second set as mixed doubles pair Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza proved too strong for Williams and Berdych taking the set 6-3.

Unbeaten player coach, Fabrice Santoro wove his magic once again, beating a frustrated Andre Agassi 6-2, extending the Aces’ overall lead to 16 – 11. Thomas Berdych found his momentum and pulled the Slammers back to within striking distance (17-18)  with a 6-2 triumph over crowd favorite Gael Monfils.

Australian duo Nick Kyrgios and Lleyton Hewitt showed a good mix of youth and experience as they combined to pull the Slammers, tying the score at 23 all, and forced a Super Shootout.

In a repeat of the men's singles match, Berdych and Monfils stepped up to play the 7-min tie-breaker, where the calm and collected Berdych held on to give the DBS Singapore Slammers their first win of the league. — Philippine STAR News Service