Wawrinka stars as Slammers trump Aces to win IPTL
Stan Wawrinka starred as the Singapore Slammers dethroned the Indian Aces by winning the International Premier Tennis League title on home soil.
The Aces triumphed in the inaugural IPTL last year, but were unable to repeat that feat on Sunday as the Slammers ran out 26-21 winners at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Singapore secured back-to-back victories over the Aces to secure their place in the final and reeled off a third in a row when it mattered most.
Carlos Moya got the hosts off to a winning start with a 6-4 success over Fabrice Santoro in the legend’s singles, then Belinda Bencic increased their advantage by edging out Svetlana Kuznetsova in the women’s singles.
The tide then turned when Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza won the mixed doubles encounter with Dustin Brown and Karolina Pliskova 6-2 to put the defending champions 15-14 up.
But two-time grand-slam champion Wawrinka then rose to the occasion, getting the better of Bernard Tomic 6-3 in the men’s singles to set up a tense men’s doubles finale.
The French Open champion then combined with Marcelo Melo to finish off the job, beating Bopanna and Ivan Dodig 6-3 to spark jubilant scenes.
