There seems to be no stopping the Micromax Indian Aces in this second edition of the Coca-Cola IPTL as they romped to another resounding win, this time 30-17, against the Philippine Mavericks.
All six sets fell to the Aces. Rohan Bopanna surprisingly appeared in the legend’s singles and showed the difference between an active and retired player as he gave James Blake no hope in a romping 6-0 win.
The remainding sets were all tight but fell the way of the competition’s leading side. Agnieszka Radwanska got the better of Ajla Tomljanovic 6-4, Dodig/Mirza defeated Roger-Vasselin/Gajdosova 6-4, Bopanna/Dodig beat Roger-Vasselin/Huey 6-5 and Ivo Karlovic was unable to back up his win over Roger Federer as he went down 6-4 against Bernard Tomic.
The second match of the day in Dubai between the OBI UAE Royals and the OUSE Singapore Slammers featured the much awaited clash between Roger Federer and Andy Murray, which once more didn’t go the Swiss’ way. Federer, who has already lost to Nadal and Karlovic in this competition, racked up an alarmingly high total of fifteen unforced errors as he fell 6-4 to Murray in 27 minutes.
The tie ended up going the Slammers’ way 27-24. Besides Murray, Carlos Moya (d. Goran Ivanisevic 6-4), Karolina Pliskova (d. Kristina Mladenovic 6-5), and Murray/Melo (d. Federer/Cilic 6-5) picked up wins for the Slammers, while only Nestor and Mladenovic managed to win a set for the locals in the mixed doubles against Kyrgios and Bencic by 6-3.
Sania Mirza, a member of the unstoppable Micromax Indian Aces, summed up the feeling within the camp: “We’re a really strong team, and everyone wants us to lose! Fabrice called in sick with a fever today. But we’re hungry to win each time we step out on the court as a team. We’re more or less the same team as last year, with a few additions and subtractions. That said, we play to win, and are happy with our performance today!”
