Sensational Bopanna leads Indian Aces to fifth win in a row
Rohan Bopanna led from the front, in the absence of Fabrice Santoro and Rafael Nadal, by winning all three of his ties to help extend Indian Aces' lead at the top of the table with a 30-17 win over fourth-placed Philippine Mavericks in the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) at the Aviation Club Tennis Centre in Dubai on Tuesday.
It was Rohan Bopanna who represented the Indian Aces in the men's legend's singles tie, instead of the ill Santoro. The 35-year-old faced former World No.4 James Blake, and he completely dominated his opponent with an impressive display of tennis to continue his stunning form this year. Bopanna won the one-sided tie 6-0 in a set which lasted just 13 minutes!
In the women's singles tie, Agnieszka Radwanska defeated the young and talented Ajla Tomljanovic 6-4 in a closely fought game. Tomljanovic was left disappointed after creating six break points, but converting only one of those. The 22-year-old had more winners in the tie (11), but her game was plagued with a lot of unforced errors (13) as well.
In the mixed doubles tie, Ivan Dodig replaced Bopanna as the partner of Sania Mirza, halfway through the match, and yet the new pair had little trouble in ousting the Philippine Mavericks' team of Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Jarmila Gajdosova 6-4.
In the crucial fourth tie, Bopanna and Dodig were put under a lot of pressure by Roger-Vasselin and Treat Huey. The Mavericks pair produced four break points, but failed to capitalize, as the tie headed into shootout. For such a close fought encounter, the shootout turned out to be a one-sided affair with Bopanna and Dodig winning it 7-2, and with it the tie 6-5.
With the Indian Aces leading the game at 24-13, the men's singles tie was rendered inconsequential. However, Bernard Tomic produced a convincing performance to defeat Ivo Karlovic 6-4 and hand over a clean sweep victory to the Aces.
