Royals edge Mavs, wrest 2nd overall

MANILA, Philippines - Nenad Zimonjic and Marin Cilic stopped Daniel Nestor and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the deciding men’s doubles shootout, 6-5, as the Musafir.com UAE Royals nipped the Manila Mavericks at the start of the International Premier Tennis League’s final leg at the Hamdan Sports Complex in Dubai Thursday.

The faceoff headed to a thrilling finish after Nestor teamed up with Kirsten Flipkens and hacked out a 6-4 victory over Zimonjic and Kristina Mladenovic in mixed doubles to force a 20-all count heading to the fifth set.

But Zimonjic and Cilic outlasted Nestor and Tsonga in the decider that went through the shootout as the hosts pulled off a 26-25 thriller to edge past the Mavericks for solo second in the overall ranking, 31-29.

The Micromax Indian Aces trounced the DBS Singapore Slammers, 28-24, in their side of the match to remain on top with 34 points. The Slammers stayed at last with 19 points.

World No. 8 Caroline Wozniacki dominated Flipkens in the opening women’s singles, 6-2, as the Royals took the upperhand although Mavericks’ Mark Philippoussis edged Goran Ivanisevic in a shootout, 6-5, in the Legends set before the world No. 12 Tsonga stunned world No. 1 in another shootout in the men’s singles.

Nestor and Flipkens then stepped up against Zimonjic and Mladenovic to set the stage for the gripping Doubles set.

“The format is very special, we didn’t know what to expect. The guys have traveled already for three weeks and it’s a lot of fun,” said Djokovic. “The team spirit that we get to feel is something that we don’t get to experience much on the tour. But here, we have the whole team supporting you, all the players, the coaches…it’s very good.”

Former great Boris Becker also lauded the inaugural staging of the league, which kicked off in Manila then held its two legs in Singapore and India.

“I have had a great time watching the IPTL. They are playing their hearts out. The best way to practice is play matches. The more you play the better you get. This is a wonderful way to practice for the new season,” said Becker.