UAE Royals beat Singapore Slammers 26-23 in IPTL

Manila (Philippines), Dec 9: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Royals defeated Singapore Slammers 26-23 in an International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) match here on Tuesday.

World No.16 Ana Ivanovic started the evening for the Royals, winning her women's singles against Karolina Pliskova 6-5 to give the Royals a confident start.

Next, Goran Ivanisevic and Carlos Moya provided true vintage tennis, both legends not willing to give up. Goran prevailed, winning it 6-4 in the legends match.

In the mixed doubles match, Royals' French-Canadian pair of Kristina Mladenovic-Daniel Nestor took on the young-blooded pairing of Swiss-Australian Belinda Bencic and Nick Kyrgios, where the former winning it 6-4.

The men's doubles pairing Nick Kyrgios-Marcelo Melo helped Slammers claw back into the contest with a 6-2 win against Tomas Berdych and Nestor.

In the men’s singles face-off, Berdych defeated Kyrgios 6-4 to claim a 26-23 victory for Royals.

"It was a great match, we’re very happy to have won. Nick has a big serve, and I managed to play him really well. We are very happy with our match today,” Royals’ Berdych said after the match.

"For us legends, it’s simply unbelievable to be here in the IPTL. The crowd response is amazing; the competitive tennis is a good feeling. It’s what I miss the most, that feeling of being a competitive player again, of winning matches. And that is why I like the IPTL,” Slammers' Moya said.