OUE Singapore Slammers beat Legendari Japan Warriors 29-20 in the second leg of the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) in Manila in front of enthusiastic fans in the Mall of Asia Arena.
Carlos Moya beat Marat Safin 6-4 in the match legends singles which opened the IPTL leg in Manila.
In the men’s doubles Leander Paes and Pierre Hugues Herbert gave the Japan Warriors their first win over Singapore Slammers’ Dustin Brown and Marcelo Melo with 6-5 in a super shoot-out.
In the women’s singles this year’s Roger’s Cup winner Belinda Bencic beat Kurumi Nara 6-2 to give the Slammers a 2-1 lead.
The men’s singles provided a spectacular match where Nick Kyrgios and Phillip Kohlschreiber entertained the crowd with an evenly-contested match. Kyrgios won the match for the Slammers with 6-5 after the shoot-out.
Slammers’ Kyrgios and Bencic won the mixed doubles match with 6-3 over Lucic and Herbert.
“I love the game and the format. Last year I played Andy Murray here and it was one of the best matches for me. The crowd in Manila was great. We had a lot of fun here last time and I was looking forward to playing in Manila again. I played a lot of junior here, so it feels good”, said Kyrgios.
“I am taking a bit more time getting used to the format. It’s making me nervous and not allowing me to play the way I do. I feel bad for my team, they have hopes on me. There is pressure for us to win. The rest of the players have an advantage. Most of them played last year and they are used to it. The crowd was great. They were cheering us and really motivating us to play well”, said Marat Safin
In the second match in Manila Philippine Mavericks beat OBI UAE Royals 29-18. In the men’s legends singles team captain Mark Philippousis beat Goran Ivanisevic 6-2 to give the Philippine Mavericks the lead.
Milos Raonic overpowered Tomas Berdych 6-4 in the men’s singles to give the Philippine Mavericks a 2-set lead.
Obi UAE Royals won the first set of the day thanks to Daniel Nestor and Kristina Mladenovic who beat Serena Williams and Treat Huey 6-5. Williams and Huey produced a series of cross-court backhands and straight-line passes to draw level to 5-5. The teams tied at 6-6 after the shoot-out before the sudden death gave Nestor and Mladenovic the win in the set.
In the women’s singles Serena Williams returned to the court for the Philippine Mavericks beat Ana Ivanovic 6-3.
The all-French doubles team formed by Richard Gasquet and Edouard Roger Vasselin representing the Philippine Mavericks beat Berdych and Nestor 6-3.
“I really enjoy the format and that’s why I am here again. The crowd in Manila was great last year and more so this year. It was wonderful walking out for the home team. I really enjoyed playing the mixed doubles with Treat today. We had our chances and it was a really close match. I don’t lack motivation. I just needed to take some time off and heal to be able to walk without pain. Since my season ended ended earlier this year, I thought it was great to be able to come here and give some good match practise”, said Serena Williams
