Baghdatis marshals Punjab to victory
Believe it or not, Marcos Baghdatis hails from a village called Fairytale in Cyprus. His story, too, is one. In a 12-year career replete with high-intensity contests on the most hallowed of courts, the 30-year-old knows what it means to fight back.
And that’s exactly what he did to inspire Punjab Marshalls to an emphatic win over Mumbai Tennis Masters on the opening day of the second edition of the Champions Tennis League here on Monday.
After losing the legend’s and women’s singles rubbers, Marshalls needed to step up. Baghdatis breathed life into the largely quiet evening at the Maharashtra State Lawn Tennis Association Stadium by notching up three straight wins — mixed doubles, men’s doubles and men’s singles — to give the visitors a 21-19 victory.
Baghdatis had the support of Elina Svitolina and Saketh Myneni in the third and fourth rubbers, but the decider was his show altogether. Though visibly drained, Baghdatis did not give up.
A powerful forehand here and a one-handed cheeky lob there, he stayed in the hunt by taking the set into the tie-breaker. Then, he brought his experience to the fore by staying in the rallies, waiting for Santiago Giraldo to make the error. Mumbai had opened up a 10-6 lead thanks to its captain, Richard Krajicek, and US Open champion Flavia Pennetta. First, Krajicek got the better of his Marshalls counterpart, Greg Rusedski, to give the host a 5-4 lead. Pennetta then subdued her Ukrainian opponent Elina Svitolina 5-2 to put Masters in a position of comfort.
Then, Baghdatis took it upon himself to turn things around. The Cypriot, partnering Svitolina, broke serve on two occasions to take the set 5-2.
Baghdatis then joined hands with rising Indian star Myneni, and the duo gave the combine of Giraldo and Sriram Balaji a tough time in the middle. Krajicek and Rusedski dished out some vintage tennis, with their aces clocking the high 180s on the speed gun.
At 4-4, the set went into the breaker and that’s when Krajicek turned on the style. He opened up a 4-1 lead in the first-to-five-points system, serving an astonishing 197-kmph ace in the process.
Rusedski tried to claw his way back, but a clumsy forehand gave Masters the set.
The results:
Punjab Marshalls (PM) bt Mumbai Tennis Masters (MTM) 21-19: Legend’s singles:Richard Krajicek (MTM) bt Greg Rusedski (PM) 5-4; Women’s singles: Flavia Pennetta (MTM) bt Elina Svitolina (PM) 5-2; Mixed Doubles: Elina Svitolina & Marcos Baghdatis (PM) bt Flavia Pennetta & Santiago Giraldo 5-2 (MTM); Men’s doubles: Baghdatis & Saketh Myneni (PM) bt Santiago Giraldo & Sriram Balaji (MTM) 5-3; Men’s singles: Baghdatis (PM) bt Giraldo (MTM) 5-4.
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