IPTL: Singapore Slammers clinch thriller to hand Indian Aces 1st defeat

Singapore, Dec 3: Singapore Slammers notched up their first win in the league with a narrow 24-23 victory over current leaders, the Indian Aces, here today.

Schedule" title="Full list of players; Schedule" />Full list of players; Schedule

Coming into the match without a win, the Slammers were up against a formidable opponent in Aces, but the hosts came out with flying to snap Aces unbeaten run.

In the first rubber, Serena Williams overcame Serbian Ana Ivanovic 6-4 to give the Slammers the lead. However, the Aces drew level when Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza defeated Williams and Bruno Soares 6-3 in the mixed doubles.

Fabrice Santoro then defeated Andre Agassi 6-2 to extend the Aces' overall lead to 16--11. But Tomas Berdych found his momentum in time and pulled the Slammers back within touching distance (17-18) with a 6-2 triumph over crowd favourite, Gael Monfils.

Australian duo Nick Kyrgios and Lleyton Hewitt combined and defeated Bopanna and Monfils 6-5 to pull the Slammers up at 23-all. Hewitt and Kyrgios dedicated their win to departed Australian cricketer Phllip Hughes, whose funeral was held in Macksville today.

In a repeat of the men's singles match, Berdych and Monfils stepped up to play the seven-minute tie-breaker, where the calm and collected Berdych held on to his nerves to give the Slammers their first win of the league.

PTI