International Premier Tennis League Results 2014: Singapore Scores and Winners
Tennis is always looking for new and fun ways to get fans involved, and the introduction of the International Premier Tennis League in 2014 has created a legitimate buzz around the sport.
Some of the top stars in tennis were assigned to four separate teams, and the respective groups will do battle with team supremacy on the line. The second leg of the tournament began in Singapore on Tuesday, and the matches were even more entertaining than many anticipated.
Here are the results from Day 6 of the International Premier Tennis League:
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| Past Champions' Singles | Cedric Pioline | 4 | 6 | Mark Philippoussis |
| Women's Singles | Ana Ivanovic | 6 | 2 | Kirsten Flipkens |
| Mixed Doubles | Rohan Bopanna / Sania Mirza | 2 | 6 | Daniel Nestor / Kirsten Flipkens |
| Men's Doubles | Rohan Bopanna / Gael Monfils | 2 | 6 | Treat Huey / Jo-Wilfried Tsonga |
| Men's Singles | Gael Monfils | 6 | 5 | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga |
| Final Score | 20 | 25 | ||
| Women's Singles | Serena Williams | 6 | 5 | Caroline Wozniacki |
| Mixed Doubles | Tomas Berdych / Serena Williams | 6 | 4 | Nenad Zimonjic / Kristina Mladenovic |
| Past Champions' Singles | Pat Rafter | 4 | 6 | Goran Ivanisevic |
| Men's Singles | Tomas Berdych | 6 | 4 | Marin Cilic |
| Men's Doubles | Lleyton Hewitt / Nick Kyrgios | 5-6 | Marin Cilic / Nenad Zimonjic | |
| Final Score | 27 | 25 |
Breaking Down Thursday's Action
Manila Mavericks closed in on standings leaders Indian Aces on Thursday during the last day of the Singapore leg as they claimed a vital 25-20 victory.
The unbeaten Mark Phillippoussis got things rolling for the Filipino outfit as he defeated Cedric Pioline 6-4 in the opener between the two legends, the Australian convincing as ever.
However, Ana Ivanovic's comprehensive 6-2 victory over Kirsten Flipkens claimed the momentum back for the Aces, the world No. 5 dominant once again to put her team in the lead.
A convincing mixed doubles defeat for the Indian Aces saw the lead change hands again as Flipkens rallied from her earlier singles loss to combine well with Daniel Nestor for a 6-2 win.
Treat Huey and Jo Wilfried Tsonga then claimed their own 6-2 victory in the men's doubles to put the Mavericks effectively out of sight, the Frenchman's 6-5 loss to Gael Mofils meaning little in the end.
Ivanovic is seemingly enjoying herself in the International Premier Tennis League and its unique format, the Serbian commenting on the terrific atmosphere of the competition, per IPTLWorld.com:
"It’s really good because first of all we don’t really get many sparring matches against the girls in the offseason, and also to have a little fun and enjoy the team atmosphere, because time during off-season is very hard work and time on your own. To spend a little time with the team and make some funny jokes is nice.
"
The second match of the day between the Singapore Slammers and UAE Royals opened with a blockbuster women's set between Caroline Wozniacki and Serena Williams.
The world No. 8 managed to break her American opponent in the opening game but Williams eventually hauled the match back and eventually prevailed 6-5.
It was a mightily close encounter between the two teams as the mixed doubles was eventually won 6-4 by Williams and Tomas Berdych only for Goran Ivanisevic to take his own 6-4 victory against Pat Rafter and bring the Royals back within one game, per Sky Sports Tennis:
Berdych then won his singles match against US Open champion Marin Cilic 6-4, leaving the final men's doubles much with everything in the balance as both sides looked for a crucial win.
In the end, it was the Singapore Slammers who prevailed to take their second win of the tournament, Lleyton Hewitt and Nick Kyrgios losing 6-5 to Cilic and Nenad Zimonjic for a 27-25 victory.
Breaking Down Wednesday's Action
| Past Champions' Singles | Mark Philippoussis | 6 | 5 | Goran Ivanisevic |
| Men's Singles | Jo Wilfried-Tsonga | 4 | 6 | Marin Cilic |
| Men's Doubles | Jo Wilfried-Tsonga / Treat Huey | 6 | 3 | Marin Cilic / Nenad Zimonjic |
| Mixed Doubles | Daniel Nestor / Kirsten Flipkins | 1 | 6 | Nenad Zimonjic / Kristina Mladenovic |
| Women's Singles | Kirsten Flipkins | 4 | 6 | Kristina Mladenovic |
| Final Score | 21 | 26 | ||
| Women's Singles | Serena Williams | 6 | 4 | Ana Ivanovic |
| Mixed Doubles | Bruno Soares / Serena Williams | 3 | 6 | Rohan Bopanna / Sania Mirza |
| Past Champions' Singles | Andre Agassi | 2 | 6 | Fabrice Santoro |
| Men's Singles | Tomas Berdych | 6 | 2 | Gael Monfils |
| Men's Doubles | Lleyton Hewitt / Nick Kyrgios | 6 | 5 | Rohan Bopanna / Gael Monfils |
| Final Score | Berdych Won Super Shootout | 24 | 23 |
Marin Cilic got the better of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to help the UAE Royals notch a win over the Manila Mavericks.
The U.S. Open champion won his match with the Frenchman 6-4 to help his side secure a 26-21 victory, a result that was eventually wrapped up by Kristina Mladenovic's win in her singles match over Kirsten Flipkens.
These clashes have stirred some excellent memories of titanic matches from years gone by; the first leg of this match-up saw Aussie legend Mark Philippoussis take on 2001 Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic. It was the former who triumphed with a narrow 6-5 victory for the Royals.
Ahead of the competition, Ivanisevic admitted he was enjoying the more dynamic format, per IPTLWorld.com:
"It’s good because it’s very quick, I like to play very quick all my life, you have 20 seconds to
serve, I’ve never had problems with that because I like to serve quick.I think it’s great. Everybody’s playing seriously and I think it’s good, it’s good that people see us in a different way.
"
The key match in what was an otherwise tight contest was the mixed doubles leg. Nenad Zimonjic and Mladenovic trounced Daniel Nestor and Flipkens 6-1, a five-point margin that would eventually prove decisive on the final scoreline. Going into the last match, Mladenovic had a three-point lead, one that she extended with a 6-4 victory, wrapping up the match in the process.
The contrasting emotions of each team in the aftermath were plain to see, courtesy of the IPTL Twitter account:
Next up was the match between the Singapore Slammers and the Micromax Indian Aces. The former, boasting a host of stellar names that included Serena Williams, Andre Agassi and Leyton Hewitt, eventually emerged victorious 24-23, thanks to Tomas Berdych's win in a super shootout over Gael Monfils.
The super shootout was required after the men's doubles match finished 6-5 in favour of the Slammers, tying the scores up at 23-23. The shootout essentially takes the same format as a tie-breaker, but the player with the most points at the end of specified time period wins.
On this occasion, it was Berdych who had the edge, condemning the Aces to their first loss of the tournament in the process.
Breaking Down Tuesday’s Action
| Women's Singles | Ana Ivanovic | 6 | 2 | Kristina Mladenovic |
| Mixed Doubles | Rohan Bopanna / Sania Mirza | 6 | 5 | Kristina Mladenovic / Nenad Zimonjic |
| Men's Singles | Gael Monfils | 6 | 1 | Marin Cilic |
| Past Champions' Singles | Fabrice Santoro | 6 | 2 | Goran Ivanisevic |
| Men's Doubles | Rohan Bopanna / Gael Monfils | 6 | 1 | Marin Cilic / Nenad Zimonjic |
| Final Score | Micromax Indian Aces | 30 | 11 | Musafir.com UAE Royals |
| Women's Singles | Kirsten Flipkens | 5 | 6 | Serena Williams |
| Mixed Doubles | Kirsten Flipkens / Daniel Nestor | 6 | 3 | Serena Williams / Nick Kyrgios |
| Men's Singles | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | 6 | 5 | Tomas Berdych |
| Past Champions' Singles | Mark Philippoussis | 6 | 3 | Andre Agassi |
| Men's Doubles | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga / Treat Huey | 6 | 4 | Tomas Berdych / Lleyton Hewitt |
| Final Score | Manila Mavericks | 29 | 21 | DBS Singapore Slammers |
The first game of the day featured the Musafir.com UAE Royals taking on the Micromax Indian Aces. The Indian Aces are the top team in the standings, but the UAE Royals came into the day tied for second place.
The women’s match of Ana Ivanovic squaring off against Kristina Mladenovic was one of the highlights of the day. Ivanovic is one of the top stars in the world, and she put her skill on display in the lopsided 6-2 win over Mladenovic.
While the Indian Aces managed to win the mixed doubles and past champions’ singles events, it was Gael Monfils who really was the MVP for the team on Tuesday. Not only did he beat Marin Cilic in the men’s singles event, but he also teamed up with Rohan Bopanna to steal the victory in the men’s doubles competition.
When asked about the new format, Cilic spoke about it to IPTLWorld.com:
"So far I think the format is very interesting, everyone was talking about it from the start, I think it shows the team atmosphere and the team spirit brings the most wins and results. It’s definitely exciting for the fans to interact with the players and see different things than they are used to. For players it’s different, you have to be into the matches more than usual, emotionally and as a team.
"
In the other matchup of the day, the Manila Mavericks continued playing well and took down the Singapore Slammers 29-21. There was intense competition throughout this matchup, and the result was a hard-fought victory for Manila.
Women’s tennis star Serena Williams was the only winner on the day for Singapore, beating Kirsten Flipkens, 6-5. Flipkens did manage to beat Williams in the mixed doubles along with her partner Daniel Nestor.
Singapore was hoping legend Andre Agassi would be able to pull out the win in the past champions' event, but Mark Philippoussis stunned the arena and sent Agassi and his team out with a lopsided loss.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was a big part of Manila’s success as well, notching a singles win over Tomas Berdych and a men’s doubles win alongside Treat Huey. This was the best match of the day, but it was still a definitive win for Manila and a tough loss for Singapore.
Manila is back in action on Wednesday against the Indian Aces, and Singapore will take on the UAE Royals. With the top stars in the world going head-to-head, all tennis fans should be tuning into the 2014 International Premier Tennis League.
*Stats via IPTLWorld.com.
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