Mavericks spoil Djoko IPTL debut, trip Royals

MANILA, Philippines - The Manila Mavericks spoiled world No. 1 Novak Djokovic’s debut for the UAE Royals as they pounded out a 27-24 victory while Roger Federer flashed top form to lead the Indian Aces to a 26-16 rout of the Singapore Slammers in an action-packed Day 2 of the Coca-Cola International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) presented by Qatar Airways in New Delhi, India Sunday night.

Mavericks’ Mark Philippoussis kept his unbeaten run in the inaugural tournament that features the world’s best players, beating UAE’s Goran Ivanisevic, 6-3, before Daniel Nestor and the big-hitting Jo-Wilfried Tsonga nipped Djokovic and Nenad Zimonjic, 6-5, in a thrilling shootout to the delight of the packed crowd at the Indira Ghandi Indoor Stadium.

That men’s doubles victory came after world No. 9 Marin Cilic stopped Tsonga also in a shootout, 6-5, in the men’s singles.

Djokovic was actually set to see action in the final day Monday but opted to play Sunday to help rally the Royals.

But the Mavericks had other things in mind.

Tsonga and Nestor held their own against Djokovic and Zimonjic then pulled through in the shootout to give the Mavericks a three-point cushion after three sets. They padded it to seven, 23-16, after Nestor, sustaining his awesome form, teamed up with Kirsten Flipkens and routed Zimonjic and Kristina Mladenovic, 6-2, in the mixed doubles.

World No. 8 Caroline Wozniacki then battled Flipkens in a tightly fought women’s singles that featured long, exciting rallies and superb moves. Playing a cool yet powerful game, Wozniacki hacked out an 8-4 victory in the shootout.

The Mavericks thus tied the Royals at second in the four-team field with 23 points with identical 4-4 win-loss records.

In the first match, world No. 2 Federer proved unstoppable, helping the Indian Aces tighten their grip of the overall lead with a dominant 26-16 victory over the cellar-dweller Singapore Slammers.

The Aces bucked a first set loss by debuting legend Pete Sampras, who dropped a 2-6 setback to Patrick Rafter.

Federer then partnered with Sania Mirza to rout the Nick Kyrgios-Daniel Hantuchova tandem, 6-0, in the mixed doubles before teaming up with Rohan Bopanna to blast Kyrgios and Lleyton Hewitt, 6-1, in the men’s doubles.

Ana Ivanovic wrapped up the win with a close 6-5 win over Hantuchova in women’s singles.