Delhi: On a wintery December evening, the high-voltage Coca-Cola International Premier Tennis League kicked off at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in New Delhi today. Opening the day’s proceedings, it was the Obi UAE Royals facing off against the Legendari Japan Warriors, with the latter getting their first win of the season scoring 24-21.

Match Summary:

-  Ana won it convincingly for the UAE Royals, in 26 short minutes winning it 6-2 over young Kurumi

-  With Safin still struggling with an injury that he picked in Manila, Thomas Enqvist stepped in for him. But Goran proved the mightier of the two, winning the set 6-4, giving the Royals a 2 set lead

-  The men’s doubles was an exciting match, the crowd clearly supporting home star Leander who paired Herbert for the Warriors. The duo won it 6-3 for the Warriors, in what proved to be the turning point of the match in their favour

-  In the men’s singles, Herbert stepped in for Kohlschreiber who called in sick. Boosted with the previous set win, Herbert created an upset winning it 6-4 against Berdych, equalling the score for his team

-  The mixed doubles was clearly the shortest set of the evening, with Lucic/Herbert taking it away 6-2 over Mladenovic/Nestor

What the Players said:

Leander Paes: “It’s great to go out there and win it for the team, it’s wonderful that we notched our first win in the IPTL today. Herbert was a brilliant partner to have and he played some fantastic tennis today in all the 3 sets. Being 2 sets down and then winning the men’s doubles gave us the momentum that we needed.” On the league he added, “Without a doubt events like this will help tennis in India to grow. It’s important to have more and more events like so young players can see their idols live in action and get inspired to play better. To have the likes of Roger and Rafa play in India is tremendous. Kudos to Mahesh for bringing an event and a galaxy of players of this stature to India!”

Goran Ivanisevic: “We started the first two sets well, but Herbert played brilliantly for the Warriors today, winning both the men’s and mixed doubles today. We didn’t expect to lose the men’s singles, but that’s tennis you know. And the format this year is really competitive where every game counts, so even if you lose its important to get a good score up there.” On preparing for the IPTL, he said, “I player last year, and it was tough. And this year, they made it tougher, so I definitely trained before coming. I love playing in India, we had great fun last year too, I love the food, and the crowd is great”

Match Scores: