Reuters
Singapore, Dec 20: Stan Wawrinka showed his class in both singles and doubles to lead the Singapore Slammers to victory in the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) final here Sunday.
Switzerland’s Wawrinka played brilliantly to ensure the Slammers overcame the Indian Aces 26-21 in a gripping finale. Carlos Moya got the home side off to a perfect start with a 6-4 victory over French shot-maker Fabrice Santoro in the ‘Legends Singles’, the Spanish veteran coming out on top of five straight breaks of serve after he had opened a 3-2 lead.
Swiss starlet Belinda Bencic stretched the advantage by a game after the 18-year-old fought off a gritty challenge from Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova to claim the women’s singles, 6-5.
The pair put on an absorbing display with three breaks apiece in the opening 10 games sending the contest into a ‘shootout’ (identical to a tiebreak), which Bencic claimed 7-3 to put Singapore 12-9 ahead.
The Aces, however, struck back in the mixed doubles with their strong Indian pairing of Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna storming to a 6-2 victory over Dustin Brown and Karolina Pliskova to put the defending champions 15-14 ahead.
Wawrinka then helped the Slammers reclaim the lead with a 6-3 win over Bernard Tomic before teaming up with Marcelo Melo to seal the contest.
Australia’s Tomic matched the World No. 4 shot-for-shot until the double Grand Slam champion called on his trademark one-handed backhand to forge a break of serve in the sixth game and open a 4-2 lead.
Wawrinka had warmed to the task and looked as accomplished as his doubles World No.1 partner from Brazil, the pair dominating Bopanna and Ivan Dodig 6-3 to set off wild celebrations in the middle of the court.