Serena serenades, awes Manila fans

MANILA, Philippines - Serena Williams showed why she’s world No. 1 last night, beating Ana Ivanovic, 6-3, and giving the fans plenty of reasons to cheer about in the International Premier Tennis League at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Williams got the crowd going the moment she stepped onto the powder blue court.

“The crowd here is always great. You’re super cool,” said the 34-year-old American, who has a highly impressive collection of 21 Grand Slam titles.

Williams hit shots line no other female player does, and was never in trouble against Ivanovic, who wore a bright-colored tennis outfit and the prettiest smile in the sport.

After allowing Ivanovic to break even at 2-2, Williams won three of the next four games, and served for the match with a 5-3 advantage.

She won the battle between the two superstars with a service winner.

“I just had so much fun today,” said Williams, who earlier teamed up with Fil-American Treat Huey, but dropped a close 6-5 decision to Daniel Nestor and Kristina Mladenovic.

The Mavericks, who split two matches in the Japan leg last week, won the legends singles. The men’s doubles was being played as of presstime.

Serena’s win over Ivanovic gave the Mavericks an unreachable 23-15 lead over the Royals, regardless of the result of the men’s doubles.

The Royals, tipped to win this year’s title, took their first loss in three matches.

Mark Philippoussis started it off for the Mavericks with a 6-2 win over Goran Ivanisevic before Milos Raonic dealt Tomas Berdych a 6-4 defeat.

Nick Kyrgios of Australia provided the early fireworks as the Singapore Slammers ran away with a 29-20 win over the Japan Warriors.

The 20-year-old Kyrgios, who loves to endear himself with the fans, won his singles match against Philip Kohlschreiber, 6-5, then stepped right back into the court to give the Slammers a 6-3 win in the mixed doubles event.

Kyrgios teamed up with Belinda Bencic in a 6-3 win over doubles expert Leander Paes and Mirjana Lucic-Baroni to seal the win for the Slammers, now 2-2 after four matches.

The Warriors, the newest team in the IPTL, will continue searching for a first win after three losses in the Japan leg and this one.

Carlos Moya kicked it off for the Slammers with a 6-4 win over Marat Safin in the legends singles before Belinda Bencic won the women’s singles, 6-2, over Kurumi Nara and Baroni, a late substitute.

The Warriors’ lone win in the match was provided by Paes and Pierre Hugues Herbert over Dustin Brown and Marcelo Melo in mixed doubles.

The crowd at the world-class arena were treated to world-class tennis.

The 6-foot-4 Kyrgios, once was a promising basketball player in Australia, provided the big shots that got the crowd roaring. In his singles match against Kohlschreiber, he won a point with a wonderful backhand volley and pumped his fist like Tiger Woods.

“I was just trying to have fun. But I’m happy to get the win. I knew what the game plan was,” said Kyrgios, a die-hard Boston Celtics fan who idolizes LeBron James and Michael Jordan.

Kyrgios sealed the win in mixed doubles with a service winner. He was around in last year’s Manila leg of the IPTL and said he knew how the crowd was in this side of the planet.

“I remember the crowd last year was unbelievable. Tonight it was also good. I knew the crowd would be electric. This has always been a place I feel comfortable coming to. I enjoy it here,” he said.