New Delhi , December 11: There was no stopping Indian Aces as the defending champions recorded yet another impressive win with a 26-21 scoreline against Japan Warriors on the second day of the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL), here today.
For the Warriors, Pierre-Hughes Herbert featured in three matches and won two of them but his team ended up on the losing side.
Warriors’ win in the men’s doubles had an Indian connection as Leander Paes combined with Herbert to edge past the home combination of Rohan Bopanna and Ivan Dodig 6-5 via a shootout.
The scores were level 5-5, forcing a shootout which was another intense affair as Paes and Herbert won 7-6. Paes was effusive in his praise for his French teammate. “Herbert has a phenomenal future ahead. He is a student of the game and that is what I like about him the most,” said Paes, who also thanked the sparse crowd for coming out to support the players.
Before that defeat, Indian Aces won the opening mixed doubles and women’s singles to move ahead 12-6. Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna were tested before they prevailed 6-4 against Mirjana Lucic-Baroni and Herbert.
In the next match Agnieszka Radwanska yet again came good, beating two players in a single set. She led 4-2 against Lucic-Baroni when the Warriors replaced her with Kurumi Nara. However the Japanese could not win a single point on her serve and Radwanska held the next to take the set comfortably.
Fabrice Santoro won 6-3 against Thomas Enqvist to put it beyond Warriors. Up against Dodig, Herbert earned a consolation 6-4 win in the men’s singles, closing the lost tie with a win.