The Micromax Indian Aces recovered from two sets down to defeat the Singapore Slammers 27-22 on the third day of the International Premier Tennis League in Japan.
The tie started with an epic clash between tennis greats Fabrice Santoro and Carlos Moya. On the ATP Tour they have played each other four times between 2000-2007 with Santoro winning three of the encounters. Despite the winning head-to-head, it was Moya who was triumphant as he edged his way past the Frenchman 6-5 to give the early lead to the Slammers.
The Slammers dominance continued in the second set when Karolina Pliskova eased past Sam Stosur 6-4. It is the second consecutive day that Stosur has lost after losing to Maria Sharapova yesterday.
After the first two sets, the Indian Aces were trailing 9-12 before coming back strongly in the remaining three sets due to an outstanding effort from Ivan Dodig. During the third set in the men’s doubles, Dodig teamed up with ATP World Tour Finals doubles runner-up Rohan Bopanna. Facing Brazil’s Marcelo Melo and Germany’s Dustin Brown, they closed out the set 6-4 to bring the aces back into contention.
The Aces then decided to enlist the help of the Croat once again in the fourth set mixed doubles. Bopana was substituted for Dodig as he played alongside doubles specialist and WTA Finals champion Sania Mirza. The Slammers also made a substitution when they changed world No.1 doubles player Melo for Nick Kyrgios. The strategy paid off for the Aces as Mirza and Dodig was too good for their opponents, Kyrgios and Bencic, storming to a 6-3 win.
Going into the fifth and final set the Indian Aces were leading 21-19. Rounding off the tie was a clash between Dodig and Kyrgios. Despite both men been ranked inside the top 90, they have never played each other on the ATP Tour. Many expected the Australian star to clinch the win but failed to do. 30-year-old Dodig produced a stunning display to grab a surprise 6-3 win.
The Indian Aces are currently undefeated in this year’s IPTL after two matches. They also beat the Japan Waariors 25-24 on Wednesday. They are the current defending champions.
