Singapore Slammers scripted a 29-20 win over Japan Warriors on Day One of the Manila leg of the International Premier Tennis League on Sunday.
The legends kicked off the afternoon, with Carlos Moya and Marat Safin receiving loud cheers. Matching each other stroke for stroke, Moya got the better of the Russian winning the set 6-4. The men’s doubles gave the Warriors their first set win with Leander Paes and Pierre-Hugues Herbert winning it 6-5 in a super shootout against Dustin Brown and Marcelo Melo.
In the women’s singles, Belinda Bencic overpowered the young Kurumi Nara, and even a mid-set substitution with Mirjana Lucic could not help the Warriors take the lead. With a 6-2 win, the Slammers taking their overall lead to 17-12.
The men’s singles was a thrilling encounter with Nick Kyrgios and Philip Kohlschreiber exhibiting some power-packed tennis to the fans. In an evenly contested encounter, Kyrgios won it 6-5 for the Slammers in a shoot-out.
The mixed doubles saw a super-charged Kyrgios/Bencic take on Lucic/Herbert from the first ball itself, winning the set 6-3 for the Slammers. “I am taking a bit more time getting used to the format, it is making me nervous and not allowing me to play the way I do,” Safin said.
