Kolkata: Wins and losses are integral parts of any sport.And that’s what the Indian Aces would like to console themselves with,after losing out to Singapore Slammers by a 20-30 in an International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) match in Tokyo, on Sunday.This was their first loss in the season after tasting back to back victories against the Japan Warriors and the UAE Royals in their first two matches.
The inaugural champions did not have a good start to their day as Mark Philipoussis lost 3-6 to Thomas Johannson in the legend singles. Swiss star Martina Hingis, who is playing in the IPTL for the first time added to the woes of the Indian Aces after she beat Kirsten Flipkens by a 4-6 margin in the women’ssingles.It was more or less the beginning of the end for the Indian Aces for the day.
And, Hingis wasn’t done yet.She returned teaming up with Pablo Cuevas to beat the duo of Rohan Bopanna and her former partner Sania Mirza by a margin of 6-4.This was the first instance where Sania played against Hingis after splitting.
The Indian Aces were looking forward to Feliciano Lopez getting a big win and reducing the five-point deficit but the Spaniard lost 3-6 to Czech Tomas Berdych.
Things were well out of reach for the inaugural champs as the duo of Bopanna and Lopez could only manage a draw in the men’s doubles against Nestor and Cuevas.
The Indian Aces share the top spot with the UAE Royals having seven points apiece,but are placed second courtesy their 76 wins as compared to the Royals’ 79.
They need to regain their back their lost momentum and buckle up as the top two teams in the table, meet for the finale,which is slated to held on December 11.