Singapore Slammers scripted a 29-20 win over Japan Warriors on day one of the Manila leg of the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) on Sunday. The legends kicked off the afternoon, with Carlos Moya and Marat Safin receiving loud cheers. Matching each other stroke for stroke, Moya got the better of the Russian, winning the set 6-4.
Men’s doubles gave the Warriors their first set win, with Leander Paes and Pierre-Hugues Herbert winning 6-5 in a super shootout against Dustin Brown and Marcelo Melo. In the women’s singles, Belinda Bencic overpowered the young Kurumi Nara, and even a mid-set substitution with Mirjana Lucic could not help the Warriors take the lead. With a 6-2 win, the Slammers took their overall lead to 17-12.
Kyrgios and Kohlschreiber play thriller
The men’s singles was a thrilling encounter, with Nick Kyrgios and Philip Kohlschreiber providing some power-packed tennis to the fans. In an evenly contested encounter, Kyrgios won it 6-5 for the Slammers in a shootout. The mixed doubles saw a super-charged duo of Kyrgios and Bencic take on Lucic and Herbert, winning the set 6-3 for the Slammers.
On his match, Marat Safin said: “I am taking a bit more time getting used to the format, it is making me nervous and not allowing me to play the way I do. I feel bad for my team, they have hopes on me, and 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.”
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