Indian Aces complete sweep of IPTL Manila leg

MANILA, Philippines – The Indian Aces recovered from Ana Ivanovic’s shocking loss in the opening set as they came out on top and the only unbeaten team in the Manila leg of the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL).

World no. 18 Gael Monfils continued his impressive run in the tournament to offset the opening 4-6 loss of Ivanovic to Kristina Mladenovic.

Monfils once again wowed the big Sunday crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena with his dance moves and solid play as the Aces rode on his athleticism in beating the determined UAE Royals.

Monfils broke the tight match wide open when he teamed up with Rohan Bopanna in the men’s doubles, beating US Open champion Marin Cilic and Nenad Zimonjic, 6-4. He followed that up with a sound 6-3 victory in the men’s singles against Cilic, who was later substituted by Malek Jaziri.

Jaziri came out with great energy that momentarily threw off Monfils. But the former French No. 1 was not to be denied. He recovered in time, breaking the 2-2 deadlock with his powerful shotmaking and nifty drop shots to provide the cushion for the Aces’ third straight win.

“I was a bit surprised [with the substitution] but at the end of the day, I hope Marin is good. Malek is tough. He came very strong but I think I was in great shapre. I'm happy to win for my team,,” Monfils said.

Jaziri though gave Monfils a tough competition that went beyond the scoreline. The 30-year-old Tunisian tried to match Monfils’ athleticism powerful shots for shots and acrobatic returns but in the end, the Frenchman was too athletic, too good, too strong. 

Playing coach Fabrice Santoro rounded up the win with a masterful 6-4 decision over Goran Ivanisevic in the legends game to book the 28-20 victory for the Aces.

The Royals suffered their first loss in the tournament, which will move to Singapore next weekend.