A rousing start ensured a favourable finish for host Punjab Marshalls as it accelerated to a 23-15 victory over Raipur Rangers in the Champions Tennis League at the red bowl CLTA Stadium here on Friday.
Both the teams had beaten Mumbai Tennis Masters in Mumbai, and it was an important match to decide who dictates the flow in the three-team group, and eventually makes it to the final in Hyderabad.
Punjab Marshalls executed a fine game to overwhelm Rangers.
Captain Greg Rusedski served and volleyed, at times, to outclass former World No.1 Thomas Muster, who played his heart out.
Elina Svitolina further consolidated the lead as she played with imagination, hit with a lot of energy, brought off stunning drops and ran down the counter drops elegantly to overwhelm Alize Cornet 5-1.
The host could have sealed the mixed doubles as well at 4-3, when it twice had matchpoints, but opted not to ‘encash’ the super point which the team had gained before the start of the tie, when the junior boy Sivadeep Kosavaraju broke the target with his serve. It was used later in the last rubber, at deuce in the fifth game.
It was some reward for the rivals for the quality of tennis that they played, and the energy with which they competed, particularly Alize, as she combined brilliantly with Roberto Bautista Agut to take the mixed doubles rubber in the tie-break.
In the doubles, Baghdatis and Saketh were outstanding as they took a 3-0 lead. Ramkumar held serve and helped Agut break Saketh’s serve to make it a fight, but not for long. What followed was only of academic interest, as Punjab Marshalls had taken an invincible 19-10 lead in the number of games won.
Since Agut won the last rubber 5-3, the match had to continue till Baghdatis won a game, and he promptly won the first game, from being down 0-30.
The results: Punjab Marshalls bt Raipur Rangers 23-15 (Greg Rusedski bt Thomas Muster 5-2; Elina Svitolina bt Alize Cornet 5-1; Marcos Baghdatis & Elina Svitolina lost to Roberto Bautista Agut & Alize Cornet 4-5; Marcos Baghdatis & Saketh Myneni bt Roberto Bautista Agut & Ramkumar Ramanathan 5-2; Marcos Baghdatis lost to Roberto Bautista Agut 3-5 (1-0)).