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IPTL 2014, MANILA - SUNDAY 30 NOVEMBER IP: 202.57.42.250 Posted on November 30, 2014 at 08:40:34 PM by David Barnes
IPTL 2014 - MANILA
SUNDAY 30 NOVEMBER
At the pre-match press conference today, given by coaches Fabrice Santoro (Indian Aces) and John Laffnie de Jager (UAE Royals) all was sweetness and light in terms of reporting on the 'happiness' factor' of the event thus far. John played a completely straight bat; "Everybody is bringing his best regarding his level and age. I'm pretty happy with the way it's going". A respected local journalist asked him about appearance fees, but he sidestepped the question with a reference to the number of Coca-Colas he'd been given. Neatly done. Fabrice Santoro reinforced the impression of cultivated bonhomie among the teams; " I am very optimistic. People are happy to be there. Even those big champions are happy to be there". Asked what most they will remember about their first visit to the Philippines, both agreed that "the people here are so friendly and helpful". They dismissed as irrelevant the persistent talk of traffic jams, but then they do travel with police out-riders, and one suspects that the revised order of play most days may have something to do with the late arrival of certain players, despite the rules stating that "teams will be required to sit on the team bench on court for the duration of the match (5 sets)".
J L's - he prefers the shortened version, for understandable reasons (incidentally, he was described on court this afternoon as 'owner' of the UAE Royals by compere Craig Wilson, although this seems to have been a slip of the tongue since the South African Davis Cup Captain is not listed as such in the Official Media Guide) - reticence on the matter of money is annoying to journalists, but should be seen in the light of what goes on at the main Tours. Tournament prize money details are, of course, published by both the ATP and the WTA, but there is an entire behind-the-scenes culture of appearance fees, often amounting to millions of dollars per week or fortnight, paid to the leading players just to show up at particular tournaments, a practice largely free from public scrutiny. On this basis, the IPTL is simply playing by the same rules, (and has announced, for example, that the overall winning team will share prize money of US$1 million) even if the complex web of financial interests is about as clear as the view from one of Manila's many skyscrapers when a typhoon is blowing.
The afternoon's entertainment today was provided by the Indian Aces and the UAE Royals. The stadium, curiously for a Sunday, was initially emptier than on either of the two previous days, which was a shame, in that the absentees and latecomers missed a great opening match between the tournament's 'discovery', Kristina Mladenovic, playing for the UAE Royals and the melting ice maiden that is Ana Ivanovic, for the Indian Aces. The Serbian was non-plussed to find herself 1-5 down in next to no time, rallied to 4-5, but the comeback effort came too late, and the French player won 6-4.
The Indian Aces won both subsequent doubles sets, Rohan Bopanna again showing a mastery of tactics, and dominance on serve, that gave him wins of 6-3 in the mixed and 6-4 in the mens. Gael Monfils won his singles 6-3 against Marin Cilic and Malek Jasiri - see yesterday's report for the logic of this), and the afternoon session finished with the 'battle of the big beasts', Goran Ivanisevic against Fabrice Santoro, the Frenchman plying with all the subtle guile to which 'JL' had referred in his press conference earlier, when he talked admiringly of Santoro being able "still to slice and dice a lot". It was a close affair, but Ivanisevic, serving a double fault on set point, was the 6-4 loser.
Today in the evening session the (by now Sharapova-less, the diva having flown out earlier today) Manila Mavericks home team took on the testosterone-infused Singapore Slammers, already brandishing Tomas Berdych as its 'icon' player, and now complete with the arrival of Serena Williams, who got pretty much the same level of ecstatic cheering when she came on court to practice as had the Russian on Friday. Unlike the men, the women on the WTA tour have had some weeks off already (since the beginning of November); precious time in which to spend some of their equal prize money earnings on, at least according to some critics, unequally earned R&R. Sharapova, for example, has spent time on Palawan, one of the Philippines' most picturesque islands, with a clutch of exclusive resorts to cajole both mind and body back to something like full normality. Serena's whereabouts pre-tournament have not yet been disclosed by the organisers, but she arrived in the country only yesterday.
It was a thrill to see Mark Philippoussis take to the court, for the Manila Mavericks, against Pat Rafter, for the Singapore Slammers, in the first of the evening's sets. The eleven times Tour title winner Philippoussis beat the eleven times Tour title winner (but also twice US Open champion) Rafter, 6-2, with surprising but elegant fluency. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and his player/coach colleague Treat Huey then played the dream team of Tomas Berdych and Lleyton Hewitt (the latter being substituted at 3-4 by Nick Kyrgios) to deafening applause every time the local man Huey hit a winner, or narrowly failed to hit one (the latter was explained to me as an expression of the national Philippine affection for an underdog). At 5-5 the five-minute shoot-out was invoked. The Mavericks got off to a poor start with a double fault from Treat Huey, but he and Tsonga volleyed superbly for two winners to go 5-3 up. Time ran out with the Mavericks 7-3 winners. The ovation as first Treat Huey, then the man himself, did the Tonga trademark crosscourt celebration, was deafening. "One of the most entertaining doubles matches we've seen in a long time", volunteered the avuncular Craig Wilson as he interviewed Treat Huey and Tsonga, and as hyperbole goes, that was fair comment.
Murray, playing with Kirsten Flipkens, double-faulted twice in his opening service game against Serena Williams and Lleyton Hewitt, but recovered to hold, and the Mavericks went 4-0 up after first Hewitt, then Williams, lost their serves. Flipkens and Murray ran out 6-1 winners, and the overall score for the night moved to 18-8 in favour of the Mavericks. Nice for Andy to be on the winning side for the first time here in Manila.
Serena Williams earned every cent of her appearance fee, whatever it was, being made to work exceptionally hard in her set against Kirsten Flipkens, with some returns of serve that flatfooted her opponent and left the crowd in a state of disbelief. Her timing had been disastrous in the doubles, and she served a few double faults in this set, but eventually 'the power prevailed', 6-3.
Murray started badly against Nick Kyrgios (the latter replacing Tomas Berdych at short notice for the Slammers), foot-faulting on second serve at deuce, but broke the big-hitting Australian's serve immediately to equal the score, then held his won to take a 2-1 lead. Games went with serve until the Scot lost his to go 3-4 down, then 3-5 with an impressive service game from Kyrgios, but he levelled two games later by breaking the Australian's serve for a second time. The five-minute shoot-out, fittingly really, ended the evening and the IPTL's time in Manila. At the halfway point Murray was 4-1 up, having conceded the only point thus far with a double fault. He regained the initiative with a smash to lead 5-3. He was 6-4 up with a minute remaining. The Australian netted a backhand at 6-5 and time, as well as the Mavericks, was the victor, the five minutes having elapsed.
The first post-party press conference featured Mahesh Bhupathi in person. He was in quietly ebullient mood, and might have been forgiven for punching the air and finding a sympathetic journalist to do a 'chest bump' with. The doomsayers had, quite simply, been proved wrong; the inaugural tournament was happening, more or less as planned, and on the basis of Manila's efforts as its first host city, is already successful. "It takes your tennis to the next level. Criticism to me goes in one ear and out the other" were two of Bhupathi's more interesting pronouncements. He clearly thinks he has a winner on his hands, and, in the short term, it would be hard to disagree with him.
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David Barnes/Topspin, 2014
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