MANILA, Philippines - Andy Murray and Serena Williams made sure that tennis fans who trooped to the Mall of Asia Arena last Sunday had every reason to cheer.
The two superstars unleashed their best and won their respective singles matches.
From start to finish, they had the crowd going. It was so loud inside the arena the cheers could be heard from across the venue’s parking lot.
Murray, the two-time Grand Slam winner who struggled with his game in the first two days, saved his best for last and went home with a win.
The pride of Great Britain faced rising star Nick Kyrgios in the closing match of the International Premier Tennis League’s Manila leg, and won a tight contest, 6-5.
The 19-year-old Kyrgios, a quarterfinalist in this year’s Wimbledon, seemed headed to an upset when he took a 5-3 lead over Murray, moving just one game away from victory.
But Murray, playing for the Manila Mavericks, had the huge crowd on his side. He fought his way back and forced a tie at 5 and a five-minute shootout.
Murray won the first four points of the shootout. But the 6-foot-4 Kyrgios, who was doing well in basketball before he shifted to tennis five years ago, refused to give up.
With under a minute left in the clock, Kyrgios rattled off two straight points and threatened at 5-6. The two players traded long shots as the time ticked away. The crowd went crazy.
With only two seconds on the clock, Kyrgios netted a shot, and Murray won the match.
The Manila Mavericks beat the Singapore Slammers, 27-19, and moved back into contention as the event featuring four teams moves to Singapore for the second leg.
The Indian Aces, undefeated in three days, topped the Manila leg with 12 points, followed by the UAE Royals with 10, the Manila Mavericks with seven and the Singapore Slammers with four.
After the Singapore leg, to be played starting today until Thursday, the IPTL moves to New Delhi from Dec. 6 to 8 and then finally in Dubai from Dec. 11 to 13.
More stars, from Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer to Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, will join the action in the last three legs. The winner takes the $1 million top prize.
“That’s a nice way to finish the week. A lot of people were skeptical about it (IPTL format) but if you look at the people who showed up here, it’s just unbelievable,” said Murray at centercourt.
Because of the crowd, it was difficult to hear Murray on the microphone.
“It shows that people here love tennis. They just don’t have the opportunity to watch any tournaments on the tour so to bring an event like this here is just fantastic,” he added.
It was a world-class tennis over the weekend – from Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to Patrick Rafter, Goran Ivanisevic and Carlos Moya.
Fil-Canadian Treat Huey also dished it out for the Mavericks.
Before Murray’s closing act, Williams, the world’s No. 1 female player, had her moments on the court.
She wasn’t around for the first two days because she came in late. But when she emerged from the tunnel and stepped onto the court, the crowd exploded in her presence.
“The reaction was really nice and overwhelming. Thank you very much,” said Williams, who struggled early but found a way to beat Kirsten Flipkens, 6-3.
“It feels really good,” said Williams.
Even when she struggled, perhaps because of jetlag, the crowd did not leave her side as they kept shouting, “Go Williams!”
Then she finally hit her stride and hit some great shots.
“It wasn’t easy but it was a lot of fun,” said Williams.