It was the fourth win for Aces in as many games in the competition that began last week in Manila.
The match started with the women’s singles which saw world no. 5 Ana Ivanovic triumph over Kristina Mladenovic 6-2.
The mixed doubles gave the crowd its first 5-5 tie-break, with the experienced pairing of Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza prevailing over Kladenovic and Nenad Zimonjic in the five-minute shoot out to claim the set 6-5. Next up was men’s singles in which flamboyant Frenchman Gael Monfils outplayed reigning US Open champion Marin Cilic 6-1. In the past champions match, Fabrice Santoro overcame a struggling Goran Ivanisevic.
The former Wimbledon champion was nursing a hamstring strain before being subbed out by Zimonjic but it wasn’t enough to stop the dominance of Santoro, who closed the set at 6-2.
The final contest was the men’s doubles which saw Bopanna and Monfils defeat a dispirited Cilic and Zimonjic 6-1. Aces add a further four points to their tally while Royals will take some consolation from a single bonus point for winning more than 10 games.
IPTL no holiday for Cilic
US Open champion Marin Cilic is a firm believer in the new IPTL, insisting the four-city mixed team tournament is a perfect addition to his preparations for the new season. The Croat struggled with injuries after his victory in New York in September but scoffed at the notion that he had interrupted his end-of-season holidays to play in the inaugural running of the IPTL.
“Well I am not sure if it would be a holiday, it would still be a training period. I had 10 days off after the World Tour finals in London and had started training again, and this is just part of that. I am still doing my own things, playing and practising, so the matches in the afternoon just add to that.
Of course it is a different way to how I have been training in previous years but it is something good to try. The format is not too tiring, the matches go quick, but you still feel in competition mode and give a little more on the court than in regular training,’ Cilic told reporters on Tuesday.
Playing for the Dubai-based UAE Royals, Cilic was happy to commit to the four-stop tournament as he was able to play alongside his coach and former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic.
“I decided to play this event at the start of the season so the most important thing for me is that I am in a team with Goran, so we can be on the same schedule all the time,” he said, adding that he still had plenty of time to prepare for his first Australian Open warm-up event. I am looking at it in a positive way and I still have another 20 days after the IPTL concludes until I play in Brisbane,’ he said.
The match started with the women’s singles which saw world no. 5 Ana Ivanovic triumph over Kristina Mladenovic 6-2.
The mixed doubles gave the crowd its first 5-5 tie-break, with the experienced pairing of Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza prevailing over Kladenovic and Nenad Zimonjic in the five-minute shoot out to claim the set 6-5. Next up was men’s singles in which flamboyant Frenchman Gael Monfils outplayed reigning US Open champion Marin Cilic 6-1. In the past champions match, Fabrice Santoro overcame a struggling Goran Ivanisevic.
The former Wimbledon champion was nursing a hamstring strain before being subbed out by Zimonjic but it wasn’t enough to stop the dominance of Santoro, who closed the set at 6-2.
The final contest was the men’s doubles which saw Bopanna and Monfils defeat a dispirited Cilic and Zimonjic 6-1. Aces add a further four points to their tally while Royals will take some consolation from a single bonus point for winning more than 10 games.
IPTL no holiday for Cilic
US Open champion Marin Cilic is a firm believer in the new IPTL, insisting the four-city mixed team tournament is a perfect addition to his preparations for the new season. The Croat struggled with injuries after his victory in New York in September but scoffed at the notion that he had interrupted his end-of-season holidays to play in the inaugural running of the IPTL.
“Well I am not sure if it would be a holiday, it would still be a training period. I had 10 days off after the World Tour finals in London and had started training again, and this is just part of that. I am still doing my own things, playing and practising, so the matches in the afternoon just add to that.
Of course it is a different way to how I have been training in previous years but it is something good to try. The format is not too tiring, the matches go quick, but you still feel in competition mode and give a little more on the court than in regular training,’ Cilic told reporters on Tuesday.
Playing for the Dubai-based UAE Royals, Cilic was happy to commit to the four-stop tournament as he was able to play alongside his coach and former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic.
“I decided to play this event at the start of the season so the most important thing for me is that I am in a team with Goran, so we can be on the same schedule all the time,” he said, adding that he still had plenty of time to prepare for his first Australian Open warm-up event. I am looking at it in a positive way and I still have another 20 days after the IPTL concludes until I play in Brisbane,’ he said.