Ivanovic charms fans, chars Hantuchova

MANILA, Philippines - Former French Open champion Ana Ivanovic flashed her beautiful smile last night and delighted the crowd that watched the opening leg of the international premier Tennis League at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The moment Ivanovic stepped into the court for her singles match against Daniela Hantuchova, it was pretty clear which side the crowd was rooting for.

Ivanovic, in her little black tennis outfit, needed very little time to score a 6-0 shutout of Hantuchova, highlighting the Indian Aces’ 26-16 victory over the Singapore Slammers.

In the fifth game, Hantuchova hit a magnificent drop and Ivanovic almost tripped to the floor trying to return the shot. She failed in her attempt.

A male fan shouted out loud, “I still love you, Ana!”

The 6-foot Ivanovic, one of the prettiest faces ever to grace the sport, smiled back at the crowd. It was a light moment in the match that turned seriously competitive at times.

“It was a great match and the crowd was amazing. I enjoyed coming out here. I enjoyed every moment of it,” said the 2008 French Open champion from Serbia.

Breaking the ice for the Indian Aces were Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza who scored a 6-4 win over Bruno Soares and Hantuchova.

Fabrice Santoro kept it going for the Aces with a 6-5 win over Patrick Rafter in the legends’ match. The Slammers bounced back into the game when Nick Kyrgios and Tomas Berdych stopped Bopanna and Gael Monfils in men’s doubles, 6-2.

Monfils, however, came back strong in the men’s singles, outwitting Lleyton Hewitt, 6-1, for the final score of 26-16.

Monfils, a 6-foot-4 Frenchman, is always fun to watch with his court antics. But to show that he means business here, he disputed a 20-second serve violation against him in the fifth game.

It took him a couple of minutes to accept the verdict.

The Aces sealed the win when Hewitt, the fist-pumping former world No. 1 from Australia, netted a forehand.

The Indian Aces will return to the court tonight against the Manila Mavericks of Andy Murray and Maria Sharapova.

The Mavericks were still playing the UAE Royals as of presstime.

Even before he hit his first shot in this four-leg event offering $1 million to the winner, Murray already got what he came for.

A self-confessed fan of Manny Pacquiao, the 2013 Wimbledon champion said he wanted to meet the Filipino boxing icon.

The meeting took place the other night at Edsa Shangri-La.