Radwanska, Baghdatis led Pune Marathas to thrilling victory in CTL
Hyderabad Aces' Martina Hingis returns to Pune Marathas' Agnieszka Radwanska during their women's singles match at the Lal Bahadur Stadium Tennis Complex on Tuesday. Radwanska won 6-3. - P. SURENDRA
Hyderabad: Riding on strong performances from Agnieszka Radwanska and Marcos Baghdatis Pune Marathas edged past Hyderabad Aces 26-25 (3-6, 5-6 (5-3), 6-3, 6-5 (5-3), 6-5 (5-3)) in the last match of the Hyderabad leg of the Champions Tennis League played at the Lal Bahadhur Stadium tennis complex in the city on Tuesday.
There was added pressure on Radwanska, when she faced Hyderabad star Martina Hingis with the visitors trailing 0-2. Radwanska broke Hingis’ first serve and held onto her next to gain a slender 2-0 lead. The match gained momentum with each passing point as Hingis attacked the ball while Radwanska, with her quick pace, covered the court to return the favour.
In the end, the Polish star outplayed her Swiss opponent to win 6-3 and put her side on the path to victory. In the men’s doubles match, Baghdatis teamed up with local lad Saketh Myneni to rally past the Aces 6-5 (5-3) in a thrilling tie-breaker.
The Cypriot and his Indian partner were sluggish to get off the mark as they looked out of sorts in the initial stages of the match. But once they found their rhythm, they never looked back.
With scores leveled at 2-2 and with the games also level on 20-20, the last match between Baghdatis and Mikhail Youzhny was played out as a decider. Baghdatis squandered a 5-3 lead as Youzhny rallied to win the next three games to make it 5-5 and took the match to a tie-breaker.
Initially in the tie-breaker, Baghdatis was 0-2 down. But the seasoned player rallied to win the next five points to win it 5-2 and helped the visitors win the away tie. Earlier, 49-year-old legend Pat Cash, who came out of retirement, was bull-dozed by Aces’ Mark Philippoussis in the opening-set of the match 6-3.
( Source : dc )
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