Indian Aces finish IPTL Manila Leg unbeaten

MANILA, Philippines – The Indian Aces finished the first leg of the 2014 Coca-Cola International Premier Tennis League tournament in Manila with a 3-0 record after defeating the UAE Royals, 28-20, on Sunday, November 30, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. 

The Aces won four of the five sets of their match with the Royals, who entered Sunday’s fixture undefeated at 2-0. 

Team India will go to Singapore, where the next leg of the IPTL tourney will take place, with 12 total points in the standings for first place, with UAE right behind at second with 10 points.

“I love this format. I love this event… It suits me well,” 28-year-old world no. 18 Gael Monfils said during the post-match press conference, referring to the new tournament and scoring format being utilized by the IPTL.

“I really like it. I think we have fun out there,” he said about his club, the Aces, who are the only unbeaten team in the competition. “Actually, we’re good friends. It was a good pick for our team.”

“It’s a good combination because we have fun and we’re still serious on the court. For me, it’s great,” said Monfils, who along with his team celebrated the win by dancing to the tune of “Teach Me How To Dougie” in front of the Filipino crowd at the MOA Arena.  

“I think it’s generic,” he laughed about his dance moves.

The women’s singles set was the only one UAE won.

It was another impressive outing for the 21-year-old Kristina Mladenovic, who defeated world no. five Ana Ivanovic in 10 games. 

Mladenovic, ranked no. 67 in the world, established a 5-1 games advantage, but dropped the next three. In the 10th game, Ivanovic was ahead 40-30, and was just one more conversion away from forcing a shootout. However, she was unable to receive to consecutive smashes from her opponent, leading to her first singles set loss in the IPTL.

In the mixed doubles set, the lethal duo of Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna for the Aces won for the third straight day, beating Mladenovic and Nenad Zimonjic on Sunday, 6-3. 

Zimonjic and Bopanna were back for the next set – men’s doubles – to team up with Marin Cilic and Monfils, respectively. Team India’s duo won four of the first six games, and exchanged games with their opponents after, leading to a 6-4 win.

In the men’s singles duel, Monfils won two of the first three games before his opponent, Cilic, had to bow out of the set. He was substituted by Malek Jaziri, who instantly tied the set at 2-2. Monfils won the subsequent two games to go up 4-2, then just dropped one more en route to a 6-3 win.

In the legends singles set, Goran Ivanisevic and Fabrice Santoro fought each other to 10 games, with the latter coming out victorious, 6-4. 

– Rappler.com