Ivanovic out-duels Sharapova as Aces take down Mavericks

MANILA, Philippines – The main event of day two of the 2014 Coca-Cola International Premier Tennis League on Saturday, November 29, at the Mall of Asia Arena featured a sight that had yet to take place in the Philippines prior to the evening. 

On one side for the Manila Mavericks, there was Maria Sharapova, ranked no. two in the world by the WTA, while on the other side for the Indian Aces, there was Ana Ivanovic, ranked no. 5 in the world by the WTA. 

It was an incredible moment for tennis in the Philippines. But despite the star presence brought by the two grand slam champions, only one was to be the victor of the match. 

After 25 minutes and 38 seconds, it was Ivanovic whose hands were raised in triumph after beating her rival, 6-3, while her club, the Indian Aces, came away with 24-15 win over the Manila Mavericks. 

The Aces now stand at 2-0 in the IPTL, tied with the UAE Royals atop the tourney, while the Mavericks fell to 0-2 along with the Singapore Slammers.  

“We’re going to play many matches for two and a half weeks, so it’s good to start with two wins,” Aces legend Fabrice Santora said after the fixture.

“She played really well tonight,” Sharapova said about Ivanovic during the post-game press conference.  

“Despite the team losing,” she said about her club, the Mavericks, “I really felt that all of us had fun no matter how we did, and that’s the most important thing.” 

The Mavericks received an early blow when Carlos Moya had to beg off the fixture due to a groin injury he suffered while attempting a drop shot. 

“I don’t know yet. I’m going to get an MRI done tomorrow morning [to see] how the injury is going,” Moya said after the fixture. 

The departure of Moya hurt the Mavericks dearly, as the Aces leaned on the strong play of Fabrice Santoro to take down substitute Daniel Nestor in the legends singles match, 6-1. 

In the men’s doubles contest, the Mavericks were able to bounce back thanks to Treat Huey and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who took down the pair of Gael Monfils and Rohan Boppana, 6-0. 

In the men’s singles match, Andy Murray aimed to earn his first win of the tournament, and looked like he had a great chance of doing so as he wound up tied with Monfils after eight games, 4-4. 

However, Monfils took game nine thanks to timely service points. With momentum on his side, Monfils cruised to an easy victory in the subsequent game and came away with a 6-4 win. 

Murray was back in action with Sharapova in the mixed doubles match against Bopanna and Sania Mirza, much to the delight of the fans at the MOA Arena. 

However, the Mavericks duo started slow once again, trailing 0-5 in the blink of an eye. Mirza annd Bopanna were unable to complete the sweep, but finished the match in game seven, 6-1. 

“Definitely it wasn’t easy at all. They’re both such great players,” Bopanna said about Murray and Sharapova and their encounter. 

“It was not as close at it looked, but we were happy the momentum was in our favor,” said Mirza.

Sharapova took the first game against Ivanovic in the women’s singles main event, but struggled to return some of Ivanovic’s smashes over the next few minutes.  

By the end of the seventh game, the WTA’s second best in the world trailed the fifth best, 5-2 – the same deficit Sharapova faced before completing her improbable come-from-behind win over Kristina Mladenovic on Friday, November 28.

But on Saturday, there would be no comeback as Ivanovic closed the match in the ninth game, 6-3.

– Rappler.com