Nagpur look to paint Hyderabad orange

Two days later, they are ready to go head on with the Hyderabad Aces in the City of Pearls, in Hyderabad’s first Champions Tennis League match this year.

The Orangers, comprising Spaniards Alex Corretja, Feliciano Lopez, Indian Davis Cupper Divij Sharan and former Women’s World No.1 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, will on Sunday face the Aces — led by Martina Hingis and complemented by the big-serving Ivo Karlovic.

Corretja had defeated Chennai’s Rainer Schuettler of Chennai on his debut, and he’s pumped up for Sunday’s clash. “The competition is beautiful. It’s nice, it’s interesting,” said Corretja of the short and snappy Champions Tennis League format.

Further illustrating his point, he added: “Against Chennai, we had won four sets but we almost lost the match in the last 15 minutes. That keeps things very interesting. You cannot relax. You have to be at 100 per cent in each set. You need to have presence of mind at all times.”

And the man who won the final set, Feliciano Lopez, is hoping for a repeat. “It’s quick. You have to be ready. It’s only for five games. We’re happy that we had the best possible ending. It could have easily gone the other way. It was very exciting. We’re now happy to be here and hopefully we can have another win.”

“Feliciano has the toughest job,” Jankovic chipped in. “The last set is the most stressful. That’s the one that secures the win. Or the loss. So it’s all up to Feliciano,” she added with a cheeky grin.

“And that’s why he’s the strongest,” quipped Corretja to general laughter. “Every game is important,” Lopez added. “And the pressure keeps increasing with every set, as we experienced only two days ago. You have to be on your feet all the time. It’s an exciting, different way to play tennis.”

“I’m happy to be back here in India,” said Jankovic, who had played for the Delhi franchise last season.

“We’re enjoying ourselves playing this format, as a team. Everything happens so fast in this format and you have to be ready from the first point to the last and really try your best to get a win for your team,” she added.

When asked about their chances against the Aces, Corretja erred on the side of caution. “It’s going to be difficult against the Hyderabad Aces. It’s very tough to face Karlovic’s serves, and Martina is the best doubles player in the world, so playing mixed doubles against her is going to be very difficult. It’s also going to be tough to beat her in singles.”

He couldn’t help himself, however, from saying: “The Aces are very strong, but we believe we are strong as well.”