Leander Paes does the trick for Punjab Marshalls against Delhi Dreams CHANDIGARH, NOV. 21: It was Punjab Marshalls’ turn to taste victory. In the event, the host did not disappoint the home fans, as it notched up a thumping 29-18 victory over group leader, Delhi Dreams, in the Champions Tennis League at the CLTA Stadium here on Friday. As the mastermind behind the show, Vijay Amritraj put it in a lighter vein while addressing the public before the tie, ‘’Delhi is looking for the first loss’’. The victory for Punjab not only did a world of good to its morale, but also put it right up in contention for a place in the final, as it followed Delhi by one point, with a cumulative total of 69. Two more matches in the group will be played in Mumbai after a day’s rest, and the topper will make the final to be played in Delhi on November 26. After sliding to the bottom of the three-team table, following two losses, Punjab responded to the situation like a champion. Unlike in the match against Mumbai, Leander Paes was full of energy despite stretching Juan Carlos Ferrero to the tie-break in the first ‘legends’ rubber. What followed was too good, as both Paes and Garbine Muguruza, powered Punjab ahead, to a five-game lead, first by winning the mixed doubles and then by clinching the women’s singles. The margin could have been better at that stage, but the host did not encash the second of the three free-points_won for it by Rishika Sunkara and Vidit Vaghela who knocked down three targets. Muguruza had two game points on her serve at 5-4 and had deuce, before she dropped serve against the former world No.1 Jelena Jankovic. Muguruza could have won the set 6-4, rather than take a solitary game lead when she eventually won it in the tie-break. The spectators did not bargain for that much of a one-sided contest, as Paes and Somdev combined strongly to further take the match beyond the reach of Delhi, by extending the lead to eight games. The challenge for Delhi, which had won its first two matches with convincing margins, was to win the last rubber through Kevin Anderson against Somdev, and for the South African to further sustain the flow of games to bridge the deficit. Even though there was a provision for a great escape to victory in the nicely designed rules, it was too much of an exercise even for the 6’ 8’’ tall, Anderson, ranked No.16 in the world, to enact and execute. He did not have the motivation for a fight and slid to defeat. Knowing the inevitable end, the crowd, or most of the fans who had stayed back, stayed silent and well-behaved, except for bouts of ‘whistling’ and the joyous celebration in the end. The results: Punjab Marshalls bt Delhi Dreams 29-18 (Leander Paes lost to Juan Carlos Ferrero 5-6(2); Leander Paes and Garbine Muguruza bt Kevin Anderson and Jelena Jankovic 6-1; Garbine Muguruza bt Jelena Jankovic 6-5 (1); Leander Paes and Somdev Devvarman bt Kevin Anderson and Sanam Singh 6-3; Somdev Devvarman bt Kevin Anderson 6-3).
Posted on: Sat, 22 Nov 2014 07:01:44 +0000
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