IPTL Match 4: Japan Warriors vs UAE Royals

Japan Warriors 23-20 Indian Aces

Jelena Jankovic 6-1 Martina Hingis
Jean-Julien Rojer/Jelena Jankovic 4-6 Daniel Nestor/Martina Hingis
Marat Safin 4-6 Goran Ivanisevic
Kei Nishikori/Fernando Verdasco 3-6 Pablo Cuevas/Daniel Nestor
Kei Nishikori 6-1 Tomas Berdych

Photo by IPTL

Set 1 (Women’s Singles): Jankovic 6-1 Hingis

Jankovic jumped to a 3-0 lead within a blink of an eye after she managed to break Hingis’ serve twice in a row. Hingis got one of the breaks back by breaking Jankovic, but Jankovic continued strolling through the set by breaking Hingis’ serve 2 more times to win the set 6-1 to give Japan Warriors a headstart.

Set 2 (Mixed Doubles): Rojer/Jankovic 4-6 Nestor/Hingis

Nestor and Hingis played at their best from the first point onwards, breaking immediately in the first game of the set. They then broke serve once again to give themselves a better chance of winning the set and lessening the deficit in the whole tie. The Japan Warriors’ pair then broke Hingis’ serve when she served for the match at 5-2. Although they managed to hold their serve after that, Nestor successfully served out the set 6-4.

Set 3 (Legend’s Singles): Safin 4-6 Ivanisevic

Both players looked quite solid on serve as they started the set with 9 consecutive holds, with Ivanisevic making the first breakthrough at the last moment during the 10^th game at 4-5 when Safin looked wobbly on serve and got broken for the set. This allowed UAE Royals to minimize the deficit to just 1 game.

Set 4 (Men’s Doubles): Nishikori/Verdasco 3-6 Nestor/Cuevas

Nestor and Cuevas came out firing from the start of the match, jumping out to a 4-0 lead very quickly. Nishikori and Verdasco finally managed to break the UAE Royals’ pairing’s serve at 5-2 when they were serving for the set, with some amazing returns by Nishikori. However, they did not keep up their momentum as they were broken again when serving to stay in the set. This set allowed UAE Royals to take the lead in the tie for the first time.

Set 5 (Men’s Singles): Nishikori 6-1 Berdych

Berdych came into the set with a 19-17 lead, and was the favourite for the victory. However, Nishikori delighted the home crowd when he came out on fire to lead 5-0, and have the opportunity to serve out the set 6-0. However, Berdych managed to break back unexpectedly after winning a Coca-Cola powerpoint when down 40-30 to win a bonus point for UAE Royals as they managed to win 20 games when they were the losing team. Nishikori then comfortably broke Berdych’s serve with 2 return winners to clinch the set and the upset win for Japan Warriors.