Kyrgios thrills with power play

                                         

Japan Warriors’ Leander Paes thrilled the fans with his magic at the net as he partnered the talented Pierre-Hugues Herbert to beat Rohan Bopanna and Ivan Dodig 6-5(6) in men’s doubles, and check the progress of Indian Aces, which led 12-6 after winning the mixed doubles and women’s singles sets.

In the absence of Rafael Nadal, the tussle between the two Indians was the biggest attraction for the spectators who thronged the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium on Friday.

Aces won the tie 26-21, while Paes remained undefeated in their International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) encounter.

After their face-off in the US Open mixed doubles semifinals in September this year, Paes and Bopanna, who had teamed up for India’s Davis Cup campaign against the Czech Republic here, met each other across the net.

Being familiar with each others’ games, it was hardly surprising that the two were locked in a close battle. The presence of quality partners enhanced the level of the contest.

It was even-stevens till Dodig’s excellent backhand return helped Aces grab the power point and break Paes to go 4-3 up.

However, Paes and Herbert combined well at the net, intercepting shots from the formidable Indo-Croat duo. In the tie-breaker, following a 5-5 scoreline, Warriors took a 5-2 lead before Bopanna and Dodig rallied to make it 6-5 in their favour. Nevertheless, with Paes’s guidance, Herbert won two points and closed it out. Paes was the winner and the crowd loved it.

Bopanna, however, had given Aces a fine start when he combined with Sania Mirza to down Herbert and Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 6-4.

Agnieszka Radwanska outsmarted Lucic-Baroni 6-2 to strengthen Aces’ hold on the match.

Coach-cum-player Fabrice Santoro defeated Thomas Enqvist 6-3 in the legend’s set to ensure Aces’ second victory at home.

Dodig lost to Herbert in the inconsequential men’s singles set.

Earlier, Singapore Slammers rode on Australian Nick Kyrgios’s fine performance to beat Philippine Mavericks 30-22 and improve its place in the standings.

Slammers was comfortably placed following wins by Carlos Moya in legend’s singles, Dustin Brown and Karolina Pliskova in mixed doubles and Belinda Bencic in women’s singles.

The results:

Singapore Slammers bt Philippine Mavericks 30-22 (Carlos Moya bt Mark Philippoussis 6-4; Dustin Brown & Karolina Pliskova bt Treat Huey & Jarmila Gajdosova 6-5(2); Belinda Bencic bt Ajla Tomljanovic 6-3; Nick Kyrgios & Marcelo Melo bt Treat Huey & Edouard Roger Vasselin 6-5(5); Nick Kyrgios bt Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-5(2).

Indian Aces bt Japan Warriors 26-21 (Rohan Bopanna-Sania Mirza bt Pierre-Hugues Herbert & Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 6-4; Agnieszka Radwanska bt Lucic-Baroni 6-2; Bopanna & Ivan Dodig lost to Leander Paes & Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-5(6); Fabrice Santoro bt Thomas Enqvist 6-3; Ivan Dodig lost to Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-3).