MANILA, Philippines -- Filipino tennis pride Treat Huey made a triumphant season debut in the Coca-Cola International Premier Tennis League helping the Philippine Mavericks grabbed a 28-24 win on Friday before heading home to host the second leg starting on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Huey teamed up with world no. 1 Serena Williams in the mixed doubles as the Mavericks opened up the match with a 6-3 triumph against the pair of Leander Paes and Mirjana Lucic-Baroni.
It set the tone for the Philippine team that took a heartbreaking loss barely 24 hours ago.
The French pair of Richard Gasquet and Edouard Roger-Vasselin continued the romp for the Mavericks with a close 6-5 win before the much-awaited match of the night was played.
Buoyed up by a huge home crowd at the Kobe World Hall, local hero Kei Nishikori put up a gallant stand as he battled Milos Raonic in long rallies and cannon-like services but still came up short and lost a 6-5 thriller. The current world no. 14 Raonic hit eight aces and wrapped up the win in a super shootout.
In the legends singles, Mark Philippoussis delivered seven aces and 12 winners to edge Marat Safin, 6-5, in another nerve-wracking set to hike the Mavericks' lead 24-18.
Another hometown bet Kurumi Nara got a thrill of her life when the 23-year old Japanese upstaged Williams in the women's singles, 6-4, in the lone win but proved to be a big one for the Warriors.
“I was nervous all day today when I found out that I would be playing Serena Williams. She’s such a huge player, she’s world no. 1 and so big and powerful. I can’t believe that I won against her today, but more than that I am relieved that it’s over,” Nara said after the match.
She did not show any sign of that nervousness against Williams as she piled up 15 first serve points won. It was Williams, who crumbled to pressure against Nara and the huge home crowd with uncharacteristic 17 unforced errors.
Though it was not enough to overhaul the Mavericks' lead, Nara's win gave the home crowd something to cheer about and it served as a fitting end to a successful first leg of the fast-paced, team tournament in Japan.
“It’s disappointing the team lost today, but Kurumi won against Serena in unbelievable fashion, and made us all very happy! It was lovely to see the audience enjoy the match and this fun format of tennis," Nishikori said.
The Warriors will be looking for their first victory against the Singapore Slammers in the curtain-raiser in Manila leg at 4 p.m. in the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday. The Mavericks hope to carry the momentum of this win when they face the unbeaten UAE Royals in the main match at 7:30 p.m.