Punjab Marshalls beat Mumbai Tennis Masters in CTL opener

11/23/2015

Punjab Marshalls defeated Mumbai Tennis Masters 21-19 in the opening match of the Champions Tennis League (CTL) 2015 on Monday at the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association stadium in Mumbai. Consecutive wins by Marcos Baghdatis in the mixed doubles, men’s doubles and men’s singles ties paved the way for Punjab’s win.

In the CTL format, the final result is decided upon the basis of the aggregate score of the five-match tie. The five matches are in the category of Legends (Singles), Mixed Doubles, Women's Singles, Men's Doubles and Men's Singles. Each tie also consists of five sets.

In the legends’ match, former Dutch player Richard Krajicek won the tie 5-4 for Mumbai Tennis Masters against former British-Canadian star Greg Rusedski of Punjab Marshalls.

In the women’s singles, US Open Champion Flavia Pennetta destroyed Elina Svitolina 5-2 to extend the lead of Mumbai Tennis Masters to 10-6. In the mixed doubles tie, Marcos Baghdatis and Elina Svitolina teamed up to bring back Punjab Marshalls back into the match by defeating Santiago Giraldo and Flavia Pennetta 5-2. At the end of the third tie, Mumbai Tennis Masters were leading 12-11 against Punjab Marshalls.

Marcos Baghdatis and Saketh Myneni, however, put Punjab Marshalls in the lead after defeating Santiago Giraldo and Sriram Balaji 5-3 in the crucial men’s doubles tie. Going into the last tie between the men’s singles player, Punjab Marshalls were leading the match 16-15.

In the deciding men’s singles tie, Marcos Baghdatis defeated Colombian Santiago Giraldo 5-4 to win the match for Punjab Marshalls.

Mumbai Tennis Masters will now face Raipur Rangers in their second home match tomorrow.