UAE Royals beat Singapore as IPTL makes Japan debut

The International Premier Tennis League Season Two got off to an impressive start with UAE Royals beating Singapore Slammers 26-20 as the star-studded tournament made its debut in Kobe, Japan, on Wednesday.

Ana Ivanovic won the women’s singles 6-3 against Belinda Bencic to give the Royals a winning start.

Next up in the men’s singles, the power-packed shot making of Tomas Berdych and Nick Kyrgios was a hit with the crowd. Kyrgios won convincingly 6-2 for the Slammers, the only set his team won during the evening.

In the men’s doubles, Tomas Berdych and Daniel Nestor showcased some brilliant shot-making against the equally clever play of Marcelo Melo and Dustin Brown, though the Royals emerged 6-5 victorious.

The combine of Kristina Mladenovic and Nestor and Goran Ivanisevic showed their class by taking the last two sets — mixed doubles and men’s legends singles respectively — with relative ease.

Djokovic pulls out World number one Novak Djokovic has pulled out of the tournament citing fatigue, and he has been replaced by Andy Murray in his team — Singapore Slammers. Meanwhile. Stan Wawrinka will make his debut in the league.